Webster  f'  -'^-y  Medicine 

Cumm'  iV.  ^icineat 

Tutii  ^ 


V:: 


THE 


CONSPIRACY  OF   PONTIAC 


AND   THE 


INDIAN  WAR 

AFTER 

THE    CONQUEST   OF   CA]S"ADA. 

BY 

FRANCIS    PARKJMAN. 

SIXTH   EDITION,    REVISED,    WITH   ADDITIONS. 

Vol.  I. 


BOSTON: 
LITTLE,  BROWN,  AND    COMPANY. 

1870. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1870,  by 

FRANCIS  PARKMAN, 

In  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress  at  Washington. 


CAMBRIDGE: 
PRESS   OF   JOHN   WILSON  AND    SON. 


TO 

JARED    SPARKS,  LL.D., 

PRESIDENT      OF      HARVARD      TTNIVERSITY, 

THESE    VOLTT3IES    ARE    DEDICATED 

AS    A    TESTIMONIAL    OF    HIGH    PERSONAL    EEGA.RD, 

AND  A  TRIBUTE  OF  RESPECT 

FOR    HIS    DISTINGUISHED    SERVICES    TO 
AMERICAN  HISTORY. 


PREFACE 

TO    THE    SIXTH    EDITION. 


I  CHOSE  the  subject  of  this  book  as  affording  bet- 
ter opportunities  than  any  other  portion  of  Ameri- 
can history  for  portraying  forest  Hfe  and  the  Indian 
character ;  and  I  have  never  seen  reason  to  change 
this  opinion.  In  the  nineteen  years  that  have 
passed  since  the  first  edition  was  pubhshed,  a  con- 
siderable amount  of  additional  material  has  come 
to  light.  This  has  been  carefully  collected,  and  is 
incorporated  in  the  present  edition.  The  most 
interesting  portion  of  this  new  material  has  been 
supplied  by  the  Bouquet  and  Haldimand  Papers, 
added  some  years  ago  to  the  manuscript  collections 
of  the  British  Museum.  Among  them  are  several 
hundred  letters  from  officers  engaged  in  the  Pontiac 
war,  some  official,  others  personal  and  fcmiiliar. 
affording:  verv  curious  illustrations  of  the  events  of 
the  day  and  of  the  characters  of  those  engaged  in 
them.  Among  the  facts  which  they  bring  to  hght, 
some  are  sufficiently  startling  ;  as,  for  example,  the 
proposal  of  the  Commander-in-Chief  to  infect  the 


viil  PREFACE. 

hostile  tribes  with  the  small-pox,  and  that  of  a  dis- 
tinguished subordinate  officer  to  take  revenge  on 
the  Indians  by  permitting  an  unrestricted  sale  of 
rum. 

The  two  volumes  of  the  present  edition  have 
been  made  uniform  with  those  of  the  series  ''  France 
and  England  in  North  America."  I  hope  to  con- 
tinue that  series  to  the  period  of  the  extinction  of 
French  power  on  this  continent.  "  The  Conspiracy 
of  Pontiac  "  will  then  form  a  sequel ;  and  its  intro- 
ductory chapters  will  be,  in  a  certain  sense,  a  sum- 
mary of  what  has  preceded.  This  will  involve 
some  repetition  in  the  beginning  of  the  book,  but  I 
have  nevertheless  thought  it  best  to  let  it  remain 
as  originally  written. 

Boston,  16  September,  1870. 


TPvEFACE 

TO    THE    FIRST    EDITION. 


The  conquest  of  Canada  was  an  event  of  moment- 
ous consequence  in  American  history.  It  changed 
the  political  aspect  of  the  continent,  prepared  a 
way  for  the  independence  of  the  British  colonies, 
rescued  the  vast  tracts  of  the  interior  from  the  rule 
of  military  despotism,  and  gave  them,  eventually, 
to  the  keeping  of  an  ordered  democracy.  Yet  to 
the  red  natives  of  the  soil  its  results  were  wholly 
disastrous.  Could  the  French  have  maintained 
their  ground,  the  ruin  of  the  Indian  tribes  might 
long  have  been  postponed ;  but  the  victory  of  Que- 
bec was  the  signal  of  their  swift  decline.  Thence- 
forth they  were  destined  to  melt  and  vanish  before 
the  advancing  waves  of  Anglo-American  power, 
which  now  rolled  westward  unchecked  and  unop- 
posed. They  saw  the  danger,  and,  led  by  a  great 
and  daring  champion,  struggled  fiercely  to  avert  it. 
The  history  of  that  epoch,  crowded  as  it  is  with 
scenes  of  tragic  interest,  with  marvels  of  suffering 
and  vicissitude,  of  heroism  and  endurance,  has  been, 


X  PREFACE. 

as  yet,  unwritten,  buried  in  the  archives  of  govern- 
ments, or  among  the  obscurer  records  of  private 
adventure.  To  rescue  it  from  obhvion  is  the  object 
of  the  following  work.  It  aims  to  portray  the 
American  forest  and  the  American  Indian  at  the 
period  when  both  received  their  final  doom. 

It  is  evident  that  other  study  than  that  of  the 
closet  is  indispensable  to  success  in  such  an  attempt. 
Habits  of  early  reading  had  greatly  aided  to  pre- 
pare me  for  the  task ;  but  necessary  knowledge  of 
a  more  practical  kind  has  been  supplied  by  the 
indulgence  of  a  strong  natural  taste,  which,  at 
various  intervals,  led  me  to  the  wild  regions  of  the 
north  and  west.  Here,  by  the  camp-fire,  or  in  the 
canoe,  I  gained  familiar  acquaintance  with  the  men 
and  scenery  of  the  wilderness.  In  1846,  I  visited 
various  primitive  tribes  of  the  Rocky  Mountains, 
and  was,  for  a  time,  domesticated  in  a  village  of 
the  western  Dahcotah,  on  the  high  plains  between 
Mount  Laramie  and  the  range  of  the  Medicine 
Bow. 

The  most  troublesome  part  of  the  task  was  the 
collection  of  the  necessary  documents.  These  con- 
sisted of  letters,  journals,  reports,  and  despatches, 
scattered  among  numerous  public  ofiices,  and  pri- 
vate families,  in  Europe  and  America.  When 
brought  together,  they  amounted  to  about  three 
thousand  four  hundred  manuscript  pages.  Con- 
temporary newspapers,  magazines,  and  pamphlets 


PREFACE. 


XI 


have  also  been  examined,  and  careful  search  made 
for  every  book  which,  directly  or  indirectly,  might 
throw  light  upon  the  subject.  I  have  visited  the 
sites  of  all  the  principal  events  recorded  in  the 
narrative,  and  gathered  such  local  traditions  as 
seemed  worthy  of  confidence. 

I  am  indebted  to  the  liberality  of  Hon.  Lewis 
Cass  for  a  curious  collection  of  papers  relating  to 
the  siege  of  Detroit  by  the  Indians.  Other  impor- 
tant contributions  have  been  obtained  from  the 
state  paper  offices  of  London  and  Paris,  from  the 
archives  of  New  York,  Pennsylvania,  and  other 
states,  and  from  the  manuscript  collections  of  sev- 
eral historical  societies.  The  late  William  L.  Stone, 
Esq.,  commenced  an  elaborate  biography  of  Sir 
William  Johnson,  which  it  is  much  to  be  lamented 
he  did  not  live  to  complete.  By  the  kindness  of 
Mrs.  Stone,  I  was  permitted  to  copy  from  his  exten- 
sive collection  of  documents  such  portions  as  would 
serve  the  purposes  of  the  following  History. 

To  President  Sparks  of  Harvard  University,  Gen- 
eral Whiting,  U.  S.  A.,  Brantz  Mayer,  Esq.,  of 
Baltimore,  Francis  J.  Fisher,  Esq.,  of  Philadelphia, 
and  Eev.  George  E.  Ellis,  of  Charlestown,  I  beg  to 
return  a  warm  acknowledgment  for  counsel  and 
assistance.  Mr.  Benjamin  Perley  Poore  and  Mr. 
Henry  Stevens  procured  copies  of  valuable  docu- 
ments from  the  archives  of  Paris  and  London. 
Henry  E.  Schoolcraft,  Esq.,  Dr.  Elwyn,  of  Phila- 


XU  PREFACE. 

delphia,  Dr.  O'Callaghan,  of  Albany,  George  H. 
Moore,  Esq.,  of  New  York,  Lyman  C.  Draper,  Esq., 
of  Philadelphia,  Judge  Law,  of  Vincennes,  and 
many  others,  have  kindly  contributed  materials  to 
the  work.  Nor  can  I  withhold  an  expression  of 
thanks  to  the  aid  so  freely  rendered  in  the  dull  task 
of  proof-reading  and  correction. 

The  crude  and  promiscuous  mass  of  materials 
presented  an  aspect  by  no  means  inviting.  The 
field  of  the  history  was  uncultured  and  unreclaimed, 
and  the  labor  that  awaited  me  was  like  that  of  the 
border  settler,  who,  before  he  builds  his  rugged 
dwelling,  must  fell  the  forest- trees,  burn  the  under- 
growth, clear  the  ground,  and  hew  the  fallen  trunks 
to  due  proportion. 

Several  obstacles  have  retarded  the  progress  of 
the  work.  Of  these,  one  of  the  most  considerable 
was  the  condition  of  my  sight.  For  about  three 
years,  the  light  of  day  was  insupportable,  and  every 
attempt  at  reading  or  writing  completely  debarred. 
Under  these  circumstances,  the  task  of  sifting  the 
materials  and  composing  the  work  was  begun  and 
finished.  The  papers  were  repeatedly  read  aloud 
by  an  amanuensis,  copious  notes  and  extracts  were 
made,  and  the  narrative  written  down  from  my  dic- 
tation. This  process,  though  extremely  slow  and 
laborious,  was  not  without  its  advantages  ;  and  I 
am  well  convinced  that  the  authorities  have  been 
even  more  minutely  examined,  more  scrupulously 


PREFACE.  xiii 

collated,  and  more  thoroughly  digested,  than  they 
would  have  been  under  ordinary  drcumstances. 

In  order  to  escape  the  tedious  circumlocution, 
which,  from  the  nature  of  the  subject,  could  not 
otherwise  have  been  avoided,  the  name  English  is 
applied,  throughout  the  volume,  to  the  British 
American  colonists,  as  well  as  to  the  people  of  the 
mother  country.  The  necessity  is  somewhat  to  be 
regretted,  since,  even  at  an  early  period,  clear  dis- 
tinctions were  visible  between  the  offshoot  and  the 
parent  stock. 

Boston,  August  1,  1851. 


CONTENTS   OF    VOL.    L 


CHAPTER    I. 
Introductory.  —  Indian  Tribes  East  of  the  Mississippi. 

General  Characteristics.  — Tribal  Divisions.  —  Mode  of  Government. 

—  Social  Harmony.  —  The  Totem.  —  Classification  of  Tribes.  — 
The  Iroquois.  —  Their  Position  and  Character.  —  Their  PoUt- 
ical  Organization.  —  Traditions  of  their  Confederacy.  —  Their 
Myths  and  Legends.  —  Their  Eloquence  and  Sagacity. — Arts 

—  Agriculture.  —  Their  Dwellings,  Villages,  and  Forts.  —  Their 
Winter  Life.  —  The  War  Path. — Festivals  and  Pastimes. — 
Pride  of  the  Iroquois.  —  The  Hurons  or  Wyandots.  —  Their 
Customs  and  Character.  —  Their  Dispersion.  —  The  Neutral 
Nation.  Its  Fate.  —  The  Eries  and  Andastes.  —  Triumphs  of 
the  Confederacy.  —  The  Adoption  of  Prisoners.  —  The  Tusca- 
roras.  —  Superiority  of  the  Iroquois  Race.  —  The  Algonquins. 

—  The  Lenni  Lenape.  —  Their  changing  Fortunes.  —  The 
Shawanoes.  —  The  Miamis  and  the  Illinois.  —  The  Ojibwas, 
Pottawattamies,  and  Ottawas.  —  The  Sacs  and  Foxes.  —  The 
Menomonies  and  Knisteneaux.  —  Customs  of  the  Northern 
Algonquins.  —  Their  Summer  and  Winter  Life. — Legends  of 
the  Algonquins.  —  Religious  Faith  of  the  Indians.  —  The  Indian 
Character.  —  Its  Inconsistencies.  —  Its  Ruling  Passions.  — '■ 
Pride.  — Hero-worship.  —  Coldness,  Jealousy,  Suspicion.  —  Self- 
control.  —  Intellectual  Traits.  —  Inflexibility.  —  Generous 
Qualities 

CHAPTER  IL 

1663-1763. 

France  and  England  in  America. 

Contrast  of  French  and  English  Colonies.  —  Feudalism  in  Canada. 

—  Priests  and  Monks.  —  Puritanism  and  Democracy  in  New- 
England. —  French  Life  in  Canada.  —  Military  Strength  of 
Canada.  —  Rehgious  Zeal.  —  Missions  —  The  Jesuits.  —  Brebeuf 


XVI  CONTENTS  OF  VOL.  I. 


PAGE 

and  Lallemant.  —  Martyrdom  of  Jogues.  —  Results  of  the  Mis- 
sions. —  French  Explorers.  —  La  Salle.  —  His  Plan  of  Discovery. 
—  His  Sufferings  —  His  Heroism.  —  He  discovers  the  Mouth  of 
the  Mississippi.  —  Louisiana.  —  France  in  the  West.  —  Growth 
of  English  Colonies.  —  Approaching  Collision 46 


CHAPTER    III. 

1608-1763. 

The  French,  the  English,  and  the  Indians. 

Champlain  defeats  the  Iroquois. — The  Iroquois  Wars.  —  Misery  of 
Canada. — Expedition  of  Frontenac. —  Success  of  the  French. 
—  French  Influence  in  the  West.  —  La  Verandrye.  —  The  Eng- 
lish Fur-trade.  —  Protestant  and  Romish  Missions.  —  The 
English  and  the  Iroquois.  —  Policy  of  the  French.  —  The 
Frenchman  in  the  Wigwam.  —  Coureurs  des  Bois.  —  The  White 
Savage.  —  The  English  Fur-trader.  —  William  Penn  and  his 
Eulogists. —  The  Indians  and  the  Quakers.  —  Injustice  of  Penn's 
Successors.  —  The  Walking  Purchase. —  Speech  of  Canassa- 
tego.  —  Removal  of  the  Delawares.  —  Intrusion  of  Settlers. — 
Success  of  French  Intrigues.  —  Father  Picquet.  —  Sir  Wil- 
liam Johnson.  —  Position  of  Parties 65 

CHAPTER    IV. 

1700-1755. 

Collision  op  the  Rival  Colonies. 

The  Puritan  and  the  Canadian.  —  Fort  Frederic.  — Acadia.  —  The 
French  on  the  Ohio.  —  Mission  of  Washington.  —  Trent  driven 
from  the  Ohio.  —  Death  of  Jumonville.  —  Skirmish  at  the 
Great  Meadows.  —  Alarm  of  the  Indians.  —  Congress  at  Al- 
bany. —  French  and  English  Diplomacy.  —  Braddock  and 
Dieskau.  —  Naval  Engagement. — 'The  War  in  Europe  and 
America.  —  Braddock  in  Virginia.  —  March  of  his  Army.  — 
Beaujeu  at  Fort  du  Quesne.  —  Ambuscade  at  the  Monon- 
gahela.  —  Rout  of  Braddock.  —  Its  Consequences. — Acadia, 
Niagara,  and  Crown  Point.  —  Battle  of  Lake  George.  —  Prose- 
cution of  the  War.  —  Oswego  —  Fort  William  Henry.  —  Storm- 
ing of  Ticonderoga. —  State  of  Canada.  — Plans  for  its  Reduc- 
tion. —  Progress  of  the  English  Arms.  —  Wolfe  before  Quebec. 
Assault  at  Montmorenci.  —  Heroism  of  Wolfe.  —  The  Heights 
of  Abraham.  —  Battle  of  Quebec.  —  Death  of  Wolfe. — Death 
of  Montcalm.  —  Surrender  of  Quebec.  —  Fall  of  Canada ...      95 


CONTENTS   OF   VOL.   I.  Xvii 

CHAPTER   V. 

1755-.1763. 

The  Wilderness  and  its  Tenants  at  the  Close  of  the 
French  War. 

PAGE 

Sufferings  of  the  Frontier.  —  Treaties  with  the  Western  Tribes.  — 
Christian  Frederic  Post.  —  The  Iroquois.  —  The  remote  Tribes. 

—  The  Forest.  — Indian  Population.  — Condition  of  the  Tribes. 

—  Onondaga.  —  The  Delawares  and  neighboring  Tribes.  — 
Their  Habits  and  Condition.  —  The  Shawanoes,  JNIianiis, 
Illinois,  and  Wyandots.  —  English  Settlements.  —  Forest 
Thoroughfares.  —  Fur-traders  —  Their  Habits  and  Character.  — 
The  Forest  Traveller.  —  The  French  at  the  Illinois.  —  Military 
Life  in  the  Forest.  —  The  Savage  and  the  European.  —  Hunt- 
ers and  Trappers.  —  Civilization  and  Barbarism 142 

CHAPTER    VL 

1760. 
The  English  take  Possession  of  the  Western  Posts. 

The  victorious  Armies  at  Montreal.  — Major  Robert  Rogers.  —  His 
Expedition  up  tlie  Lakes.  —  His  Meeting  witli  Pontiac. — Am- 
bitious Views  of  Pontiac.  —  He  befriends  the  English.  —  The 
English  take  Possession  of  Detroit.  —  Of  other  French  Posts.  — 
British  Power  Predominant  in  the  West 161 

CHAPTER  VII. 

1760-1763. 
Anger  of  the  Indians.  —  The  Conspiracy 

Discontent  of  the  Tribes.  — Impolitic  Course  of  the  English.  —  Dis- 
orders of  the  Fur-trade.  —  Military  Insolence.  —  Intrusion  of 
Settlers.  —  French  Intrigue.  —  The  Delaware  Prophet. — An 
abortive  Plot.  — Pontiac's   Conspiracy.  —  Character  of  Pontiac. 

—  Gloomy  Prospects  of  the  Indian  Race.  —  Designs  of  Pontiac. 

—  His  War  Messengers. — Tribes  engaged  in  the  Conspiracy. 

—  Dissimulation  of  the  Indians.  —  The  War-belt  among  the 
Miamis ' ^'^^ 

CHAPTER   VIIL 

1763. 

Indian  Preparation. 

The  Indians  as  a  military  People.  —  Their  inefficient  Organization. 
-—  Their  insubordinate  Spirit.  —  Their  Improvidence.  —  Policy 
6 


XVm  CONTENTS   OF   VOL.   I. 

PAGE 

of  the  Indian  Leaders.  —  Difficulties  of  Forest  Warfare.  — 
Defenceless  Condition  of  the  Colonies.  —  The  Peace  of  Paris.  — 
Roj'al  Proclamation.  —  The  War-chief     His  Fasts  and  Vigils. 

—  The  War-feast.  —  The  War-dance.  —  Departure  of  the  War- 
riors.—  The  Bursting  of  the  Storm 191 

CHAPTER   IX. 

1763,  April. 

The  Council  at  the  River  Ecorces. 

Pontiac  musters  his  Warriors.  —  They  assemble  at  the  River 
Ecorces.  —  The  Council.  —  Speech  of  Pontiac.  —  Allegory  of 
the  Delaware.  —  The  Council  dissolves.  —  Calumet  Dance  at 
Detroit.  —  Plan  to  surprise  the  Garrison 200 

CHAPTER  X. 

1763,  May. 

Detroit. 

Strange  Phenomenon.  —  Origin  and  History  of  Detroit.  —  Its  Con- 
dition in  1763.  —  Character  of  its  Inhabitants.  —  French  Life 
at  Detroit.  —  The  Fort  and  Garrison. — Pontiac  at  Isle  a  la 
Peche.  —  Suspicious  Conduct  of  the  Indians.  —  Catharine,  the 
Ojibwa  Girl.  —  She  reveals  the  Plot.  —  Precautions  of  the  Com- 
mandant. —  A  Night  of  Anxiety 212 

CHAPTER  XL 

1763. 

Treachery  of  Pontiac. 

The  Morning  of  the  Council.  — Pontiac  enters  the  Fort.  — Address 
and  Courage  of  the  Commandant.  — The  Plot  defeated.  —  The 
Chiefs  suffered  to  escape.  —  Indian  Idea  of  Honor. — Pontiac 
again  visits  the  Fort. —  False  Alarm.  — Pontiac  throws  oflf  the 
Mask. — Ferocity  of  his  Warriors.  —  The  Ottawas  cross  the 
River.  —  Fate  of  Davers  and  Robertson.  —  General  Attack.  — 
A  Truce.  —  Major  Campbell's  Embassy.  —  He  is  made  Pris- 
oner by  Pontiac ,     .     . 223 

CHAPTER  XIL 

1763. 
Pontiac  at  the  Siege  of  Detroit. 

The  Christian  Wyandots  join  Pontiac. — Peril  of  the  Garrison. — 

—  Indian  Courage.  —  The  English  threatened  with  Famine.  — 


CONTENTS   OF    VOL.   I.  XIX 


PAOB 

Pontiac's  Council  with  the  French.  —  His  Speech. —  He  exacts 
Provision  from  the  French.  —  He  appoints  Commissaries.  —  He 
issues  Promissory  Notes.  —  His  Acuteness  and  Sagacity.  —  His 
Authority  over  his  Followers.  —  His  Magnanimity 243 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

1763. 

Rout  op  Cutler's  Detachment. — Fate  of  the  Forest 
Garrisons. 

Re-enforcement  sent  to  Detroit.  —  Attack  on  the  Schooner.  —  Relief 
at  Hand.  —  Disappointment  of  the  Garrison.  —  Escape  of  Pris- 
oners. —  Cuyler's  Defeat.  —  Indian  Debauch.  —  Fate  of  the 
Captives.  —  Capture  of  Fort  Sandusky.  —  Strength  of  the 
Besiegers.  —  Capture  of  Fort  St.  Joseph.  —  Capture  of  Fort 
Michillimackinac.  —  Capture  of  Fort  Ouatanon.  —  Capture  of 
Fort  Miami.  —  Defence  of  Fort  Presqu'  Isle.  —  Its  Capture      .     260 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

1763. 

The  Indians  continue  to  blockade  Detroit. 

Attack  on  the  Armed  Vessel.  —  News  of  the  Treaty  of  Paris. — 
Pontiac  summons  the  Garrison. —  Council  at  the  Ottawa  Camp. 

—  Disappointment  of  Pontiac.  —  He  is  joined  by  the  Coureurs 
de  Bois.  —  Sortie  of  the  Garrison.  — Death  of  Major  Campbell. 

—  Attack  on  Pontiac's  Camp.  —  Fire  Rafts.  —  The  Wyandots 

and  Pottawattamies  beg  for  Peace 287 

CHAPTER  XV. 

1763. 

The  Fight  of  Bloody  Bridge. 

Dalzell's  Detachment.  —  Dalzell  reaches  Detroit.  —  Stratagem  of 
the  Wyandots.  —  Night  Attack  on  Pontiac's  Camp.  — Indian 
Ambuscade.  — Retreat  of  the  English.  —  Terror  of  Dalzell's 
Troops.  —  Death  of  Dalzell.  —Defence  of  Campau's  House.— 
Grant  conducts  the  Retreat.  —  Exultation  of  the  Indians.  — 
Defence  of  the  Schooner  Gladwyn 305 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

1763. 

Michillimackinac. 

The  Voyager  on  the  Lakes.  —  Michillimackinac  in  1763.  — 
Green  Bay   and   Ste.   Marie.  — The  Northern  Wilderness.— 


XX  CONTENTS  OF  VOL.  I. 

PAGE 

Tribes  of  the  Lakes.  —  Adventures  of  a  Trader.  —  Speech  of 
Minavavana.  —  Arrival  of  English  Troops.  —  Disposition  of  the 
Indians.  —  The  Ojibwa  War-chief.  —  Ambassadors  from  Pon- 
tiac.  —  Sinister  Designs  of  the  Ojibwas.  —  Warnings  of  Danger. 

—  Wawatam.  —  Eve  of  the  Massacre 322 

CHAPTER   XVIL 

1763. 

The  Massacre. 

The  King's  Birthday.  —  Heedlessness  of  the  Garrison.  —  Indian 
Ball-play.  —  The  Stratagem.  —  Slaughter  of  the  Soldiers. —  ' 
Escape  of  Alexander  Henry. —  His  appalling  Situation,  —  His 
Hiding-place  discovered. —  Survivors  of  the  Massacre. — Plan 
of  retaking  the  Fort.  —  Adventures  of  Henry.  —  Unexpected 
Behavior  of  the  Ottavvas.  —  They  take  Possession  of  the  Fort. 

—  Their  Council  with  the  Ojibwas.  —  Henry  and  his  Fellow- 
prisoners.  —  He  is  rescued  by  Wawatam.  —  Cannibalism.  — 
Panic  among  the  Conquerors. — They  retire  to  Mackinaw. — 
The  Island  of  Mackinaw.  —  Indian  Carouse.  —  Famine  among 
the  Indians.  —  They  disperse  to  their  Wintering  Grounds.  — 
Green  Bay.  The  neighboring  Tribes.  —  Gorell.  His  Address 
and  Prudence.  —  He  conciliates  the  Indians.  —  He  abandons 
Green  Bay.  —  The  English  driven  from  the  Upper  Lakes     .     .     338 


THE 


CONSPIRACY    OF    PONTIAC. 


CHAPTER    I. 

INTRODUCTORY.  — INDIAN  TRIBES  EAST   OF  THE 
MISSISSIPPI. 

The  Indian  is  a  true  .child  of  the  forest  and  the 
desert.  The  wastes  and  solitudes  of  nature  are  his 
congenial  home.  His  haughty  mind  is  imbued 
with  the  spirit  of  the  wilderness,  and  the  light  of 
civilization  falls  on  him  with  a  blighting  power. 
His  unruly  pride  and  untamed  freedom  are  in  har- 
mony with  the  lonely  mountains,  cataracts,  and 
rivers  among  w^hich  he  dwells;  and  primitive 
America,  with  her  savage  scenery  and  savage  men, 
opens  to  the  imagination  a  boundless  world,  un- 
matched in  wild  sublimity. 

The  Indians  east  of  the  Mississippi  may  be  di- 
vided into  several  great  families,  each  distinguished 
by  a  radical  peculiarity  of  language.  In  their 
moral  and  intellectual,  their  social  and  political 
state,  these  various  families  exhibit  strong  shades 

1 


2  INDIAN   TRIBES.  [Chap.  I. 

of  distinction  ;  but,  before  pointing  them  out,  I 
shall  indicate  a  few  prominent  characteristics, 
which,  faintly  or  distinctly,  mark  the  whole  in  com- 
mon. 

All  are  alike  a  race  of  hunters,  sustaining  life 
wholly,  or  in  part,  by  the  fruits  of  the  chase.  Each 
family  is  split  into  tribes  ;  and  these  tribes,  by  the 
exigencies  of  the  hunter  life,  are  again  divided 
into  sub-tribes,  bands,  or  villages,  often  scattered 
far  asunder,  over  a  wide  extent  of  wilderness. 
Unhappily  for  the  strength  and  harmony  of  the 
Indian  race,  each  tribe  is  prone  to  regard  itself, 
not  as  the  member  of  a  great  whole,  but  as  a  sov- 
ereign and  independent  nation,  often  arrogating  to 
itself  an  importance  superior  to  all  the  rest  of  man- 
kind ;  ^  and  the  warrior  whose  petty  horde  might 
muster  a  few  scores  of  half-starved  fighting  men, 
strikes  his  hand  upon  his  heart,  and  exclaims,  in 
all  the  pride  of  patriotism,  "  I  am  a  Menomoner 

In  an  Indian  community,  each  man  is  his  own 
master.  He  abhors  restraint,  and  owns  no  other  au- 
thority than  his  own  capricious  will ;  and  yet  this 
wild  notion  of  liberty  is  not  inconsistent  with  certain 
gradations  of  rank  and  influence.  Each  tribe  has 
its  sachem,  or  civil  chief,  whose  oflice  is  in  a  man- 
ner hereditary,  and,  among  many,  though  by  no 
means  among  all  tribes,  descends  in  the  female 
line ;  so  that  the  brother  of  the  incumbent,  or  the 
son  of  his  sister,  and  not  his  own  son,  is  the  right- 

1  Many  Indian  tribes  bear  names  which  in  their  dialect  signify  men, 
indicating  that  the  cliaracter  belongs,  par  excellence,  to  them.  Sometimes 
the  word  was  used  by  itself,  and  sometimes  an  adjective  was  joined  with 
it,  as  original  men,  men  surpassing  all  others. 


Chap.  I.]  ORGANIZATION.  3 

ful  successor  to  his  dignities.^  If,  however,  in  the 
opinion  of  the  old  men  and  subordinate  chiefs,  the 
heir  should  be  disqualified  for  the  exercise  of  the 
office  by  cowardice,  incapacity,  or  any  defect  of 
character,  they  do  not  scruple  to  discard  him,  and 
elect  another  in  his  place,  usually  fixing  their 
choice  on  one  of  his  relatives.  The  office  of  the 
sachem  is  no  enviable  one.  He  has  neither  laws 
to  administer  nor  power  to  enforce  his  commands. 
His  counsellors  are  the  inferior  chiefs  and  principal 
men  of  the  tribe ;  and  he  never  sets  himself  in 
opposition  to  the  popular  will,  which  is  the  sover- 
eign power  of  these  savage  democracies.  His 
province  is  to  advise,  and  not  to  dictate  ;  but,  should 
he  be  a  man  of  energy,  talent,  and  address,  and 
especially  should  he  be  supported  by  numerous 
relatives  and  friends,  he  may  often  acquire  no  small 
measure  of  respect  and  power.  A  clear  distinc- 
tion is  drawn  between  the  civil  and  military  author- 
ity, though  both  are  often  united  in  the  same  per- 
son. The  functions  of  war-chief  may,  for  the  most 
part,  be  exercised  by  any  one  whose  prowess  and 
reputation  are  sufficient  to  induce  the  young  men 
to  follow  him  to  battle  ;  and  he  may,  whenever  he 
thinks  proper,  raise  a  band  of  volunteers,  and  go 
out  against  the  common  enemy. 

We  might  imagine  that  a  society  so  loosely 
framed  would  soon  resolve  itself  into  anarchy ;  yet 
this  is  not  the  case,  and  an  Indian  village  is  singu- 

1  The  dread  of  female  infidelity  has  been  assigned,  and  with  probable 
truth,  as  the  origin  of  this  custom.  The  sons  of  a  chief's  sister  must  ne- 
cessarily be  his  kindred ;  though  his  own  reputed  son  may  be,  in  fact,  the 
offspring  of  another. 


4  INDIAN  TKIBES.  [Chap.  I. 

larly  free  from  wranglings  and  petty  strife.  Sev- 
eral causes  conspire  to  this  result.  The  necessities 
of  the  hunter  life,  preventing  the  accumulation  of 
large  communities,  make  more  stringent  organiza- 
tion needless ;  while  a  species  of  self-control, 
inculcated  from  childhood  upon  every  individual, 
enforced  by  a  sentiment  of  dignity  and  manhood, 
and  greatly  aided  by  the  peculiar  temperament  of 
the  race,  tends  strongly  to  the  promotion  of  har- 
mony. Though  he  owns  no  law,  the  Indian  is 
inflexible  in  his  adherence  to  ancient  usages  and 
customs  ;  and  the  principle  of  hero-worship,  which 
belongs  to  his  nature,  inspires  him  with  deep  re- 
spect for  the  sages  and  captains  of  his  tribe.  The 
very  rudeness  of  his  condition,  and  the  absence  of 
the  passions  which  wealth,  luxury,  and  the  other 
incidents  of  civilization  engender,  are  favorable  to 
internal  harmony ;  and  to  the  same  cause  must 
likewise  be  ascribed  too  many  of  his  virtues,  which 
would  quickly  vanish,  were  he  elevated  from  his 
savage  state. 

A  peculiar  social  institution  exists  among  the 
Indians,  very  curious  in  its  character  ;  and  though 
I  am  not  prepared  to  say  that  it  may  be  traced 
through  all  the  tribes  east  of  the  Mississippi,  yet 
its  prevalence  is  so  general,  and  its  influence  on 
political  relations  so  important,  as  to  claim  especial 
attention.  Indian  communities,  independently  of 
their  local  distribution  into  tribes,  bands,  and  vil- 
lages, are  composed  of  several  distinct  clans.  Each 
clan  has  its  emblem,  consisting  of  the  figure  of 
some  bird,  beast,  or  reptile ;    and  each  is   distin- 


Chap.  I.]  TOTEMS.  5 

guished  by  the  name  of  the  animal  which  it  thus 
bears  as  its  device;  as,  for  example,  the  clan  of 
the  Wolf,  the  Deer,  the  Otter,  or  the  Hawk.  In 
the  language  of  the  Algonquins,  these  emblems 
are  known  by  the  name  of  Totems}  The  mem- 
bers of  the  same  clan,  being  connected,  or  supposed 
to  be  so,  by  ties  of  kindred,  more  or  less  remote, 
are  prohibited  from  intermarriage.  Thus  Wolf 
cannot  marry  Wolf ;  but  he  may,  if  he  chooses, 
take  a  wife  from  the  clan  of  Hawks,  or  any  other 
clan  but  his  own.  It  follows  that  when  this  pro- 
hibition is  rigidly  observed,  no  single  clan  can  live 
apart  from  the  rest ;  but  the  whole  must  be  min- 
gled together,  and  in  every  family  the  husband  and 
wife  must  be  of  different  clans. 

To  different  totems  attach  different  degrees  of 
rank  and  dignity  ;  and  those  of  the  Bear,  the  Tor- 
toise, and  the  Wolf  are  among  the  first  in  honor. 
Each  man  is  proud  of  his  badge,  jealously  asserting 
its  claims  to  respect;  and  the  members  of  the 
same  clan,  though  they  may,  perhaps,  speak  differ- 
ent dialects,  and  dwell  far  asunder,  are  yet  bound 
together  by  the  closest  ties  of  fraternity.  If  a 
man  is  killed,  every  member  of  the  clan  feels  called 

1  Schoolcraft,  Oneota,  172. 

The  extraordmary  figures  intended  to  represent  tortoises,  deer,  snakes, 
and  other  animals,  which  are  often  seen  appended  to  Indian  treaties,  are 
the  totems  of  the  chiefs,  who  employ  these  devices  of  their  respective 
clans  as  their  sign  manual.  The  device  of  his  clan  is  also  sometimes  tat- 
toed  on  the  body  of  the  warrior. 

The  word  tribe  might,  perhaps,  have  been  employed  with  as  much  pro- 
priety as  that  of  clan,  to  indicate  the  totemic  division ;  but  as  the  former 
is  constantly  employed  to  represent  the  local  or  poUtical  divisions  of  the 
Indian  race,  hopeless  confusion  would  arise  fi-om  using  it  in  a  double 
capacity. 


b  INDIAN  TRIBES.  [Chap.  I. 

upon  to  avenge  him  ;  and  the  wayfarer,  the  hunter, 
or  the  warrior  is  sure  of  a  cordial  welcome  in  the 
distant  lodge  of  the  clansman  whose  face  perhaps 
he  has  never  seen.  It  may  be  added  that  certain 
privileges,  highly  prized  as  hereditary  rights,  some- 
times reside  in  particular  clans  ;  such  as  that  of 
furnishing  a  sachem  to  the  tribe,  or  of  performing 
certain  religious  ceremonies  or  magic  rites. 

The  Indians  east  of  the  Mississippi  may  be  di- 
vided into  three  great  families  :  the  Iroquois,  the 
Algonquin,  and  the  Mobilian,  each  speaking  a  lan- 
guage of  its  own,  varied  by  numerous  dialectic 
forms.  To  these  families  must  be  added  a  few 
stragglers  from  the  great  western  race  of  the  Dah- 
cotah,  besides  several  distinct  tribes  of  the  south, 
each  of  which  has  been  regarded  as  speaking  a 
tongue  peculiar  to  itself.^  The  Mobilian  group 
(embraces  the  motley  confederacy  of  the  Creeks, 
the  crafty  Choctaws,  and  the  stanch  and  warlike 
Chickasaws.  Of  these,  and  of  the  distinct  tribes 
dwelling  in  their  vicinity,  or  within  their  limits,  I 
shall  only  observe  that  they  offer,  with  many  mod- 
ifications, and  under  different  aspects,  the  same 
essential  features  which  mark  the  Iroquois  and 
the  Algon quins,  the  two  great  families  of  the 
north.^      The   latter,   who    were    the   conspicuous 

1  For  an  ample  view  of  these  divisions,  see  the  Synopsis  of  Mr.  Gal- 
latin, Trans.  Am.  Ant.  Soc.  II. 

2  It  appears  from  several  passages  in  the  writings  of  Adair,  Hawkins, 
and  others,  that  the  totem  prevailed  among  the  southern  tribes.  In  a 
conversation  with  the  late  Albert  Gallatin,  he  informed  me  that  he  was 
told  by  the  chiefs  of  a  Choctaw  deputation,  at  Washington,  that  in  their 
tribe  were  eight  totemic  clans,  divided  into  two  classes,  of  four  each. 
It  is  very  remarkable  that  the  same  number  of  clans,  and  the  same  di- 
vision into  classes,  were  to  be  found  among  the  Five  Nations  or  Iroquois. 


Chap.  I.]  THE  IROQUOIS.  i 

actors  in  the  events  of  the  ensuing  narrative,  de- 
mand a  closer  attention. 


THE   IROQUOIS    FAMILY. 

Foremost  in  war,  foremost  in  eloquence,  foremost 
in  their  savage  arts  of  policy,  stood  the  fierce  peo- 
ple called  by  themselves  the  Hodenosaunee,  and 
by  the  French  the  Iroquois,  a  name  which  has 
since  been  applied  to  the  entire  family  of  which 
they  formed  the  dominant  member.^  They  extend- 
ed their  conquests  and  their  depredations  from 
Quebec  to  the  Carolinas,  and  from  the  western 
prairies  to  the  forests  of  Maine.^  On  the  south, 
they  forced  tribute  from  the  subjugated  Delawares, 
and  pierced  the  mountain  fastnesses  of  the  Chero- 

1  A  great  difficulty  in  the  study  of  Indian  history  arises  from  a  redun- 
dancy ofnames  employed  to  designate  the  same  tnbe ;  yet  this  does  not 

nee    A;uanu!cio,;i,  Aggonnonshioni.  Ongwe  Honwe,  Meogwe,  Ma.uas, 
Mahaquase,  Massawomecs,  Palenachendch.esktajeet. 

The  name  of  Massawomecs  has  been  apphed  to  several  "l^**"  ■»*='] 
of  Mingoes  is  often  restricted  toa  colony  of  the  Iroquo.s  which  estahUshed 

""■fFrrncors^^lUknown  Indian  belonging  to  the  remnant  of  the  Pe- 
nobsc!;:rng  at  Old  Town>  Maine,  told  me  mt.s^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 
that  a  tradition  was  cm-rent,  among  ins  P^^t^thm  MoTo-st  a  tribe  of 
ancient  times  by  the  Mohawks,  or,  as   -  f  "^"l^*  ^^  ,"„;  „,„  ,„<, 
the  Iroquois,  who  destroyed  one  of  *'=''  ™'^''';'    ,  hke  apples,  before 

with  great  wrath  and  earnestness,  ''  Mohog  all  devil. 


8  INDIAN  TRIBES.  [Chap.  I. 

kees  with  incessant  forays.^  On  the  north,  they 
uprooted  the  ancient  settlements  of  the  Wyandots  ; 
on  the  west  they  exterminated  the  Eries  and  the 
Andastes,  and  spread  havoc  and  dismay  among 
the  tribes  of  the  Illinois  ;  and  on  the  east,  the 
Indians  of  New  England  fled  at  the  first  peal  of 
the  Mohawk  war-cry.  Nor  was  it  the  Indian  race 
alone  who  quailed  before  their  ferocious  valor. 
All  Canada  shook  with  the  fury  of  their  onset; 
the  people  fled  to  the  forts  for  refuge ;  the  blood- 
besmeared  conquerors  roamed  like  wolves  among 
the  burning  settlements,  and  the  colony  trembled 
on  the  brink  of  ruin. 

The  Iroquois  in  some  measure  owed  their  tri- 
umphs to  the  position  of  their  country ;  for  they 
dwelt  within  the  present  limits  of  the  State  of  New 
York,  whence  several  great  rivers  and  the  inland 
oceans  of  the  northern  lakes  opened  ready  thorough- 
fares to  their  roving  warriors  through  all  the  adja- 
cent wilderness.  But  the  true  fountain  of  their 
success  is  to  be  sought  in  their  own  inherent  ener- 
gies, wrought  to  the  most  effective  action  under  a 
political  fabric  well  suited  to  the  Indian  life  ;  in 
their  mental  and  moral  organization ;  in  their  in- 
satiable ambition  and  restless  ferocity. 

In  their  scheme  of  government,  as  in  their  social 

1  The  tribute  exacted  from  the  Delawares  consisted  of  wampum,  or 
beads  of  shell,  an  article  of  inestimable  value  with  the  Indians.  "  Two 
old  men  commonly  go  about,  eA^ery  year  or  two,  to  receive  this  tribute ; 
and  I  have  often  had  opportunity  to  observe  what  anxiety  the  poor  In- 
dians were  under,  while  these  two  old  men  remained  in  that  part  of  the 
country  where  I  was.  An  old  Mohawk  sachem,  in  a  poor  blanket  and  a 
dirty  shirt,  may  be  seen  issuing  his  orders  with  as  arbitrary  an  authorit}'' 
as  a  Roman  dictator."  —  Golden,  Hist.  Five  Nations,  4. 


Chap.  L]  THE  IROQUOIS.  9 

customs  and  religious  observances,  the  Iroquois  dis- 
played, in  full  symmetry  and  matured  strength,  the 
same  characteristics  which  in  other  tribes  are  found 
distorted,  withered,  decayed  to  the  root,  or,  perhaps, 
faintly  visible  in  an  imperfect  germ.  They  con- 
sisted of  five  tribes  or  nations  —  the  Mohawks,  the 
Oneidas,  the  Onondagas,  the  Cayugas,  and  the  Sen- 
ecas,  to  whom  a  sixth,  the  Tuscaroras.  was  after- 
wards added.-^  To  each  of  these  tribes  belonged 
an  organization  of  its  own.  Each  had  several 
sachems,  who,  with  the  subordinate  chiefs  and 
principal  men,  regulated  all  its  internal  affairs ; 
but,  when  foreign  powers  were  to  be  treated  with, 
or  matters  involving  the  whole  confederacy  re- 
quired deliberation,  all  the  sachems  of  the  several 
tribes  convened  in  general  assembly  at  the  great 
council-house,  in  the  Valley  of  Onondaga.  Here 
ambassadors  were  received,  aUiances  were  adjusted, 
and  all  subjects  of  general  interest  discussed  with 
exemplary   harmony.^     The   order  of  debate  was 


1  The  following  are  synonymous  names,  gathered  from  various 
writers  :  — 

MohaAvks,  Anies,  Agniers,  Agnierrhonons,  Sankhicans,  Canungas, 
Mauguawogs,  Ganeagaonoh, 

Oneidas,  Oneotas,  Onoyats,  Anoyints,  Onneiouts,  Oneyyotecaronoh, 
Onoiochrhonons. 

Onondagas,  Onnontagues,  Onondagaonohs. 

Cayugas,  Caiyoquos,  Goiogoens,  Gweugwehonoh. 

Senecas,  Sinnikes,  Chennessies,  Genesees,  Chenandoanes,  Tsonnon- 
touans,  Jenontowauos,  Nundawaronoh. 

2  "  In  the  year  1745,  August  Gottlieb  Spangenburg,  a  bishop  of  the 
United  Bretlu-en,  spent  several  weeks  in  Onondaga,  and  frequently  at- 
tended tlie  great  council.  The  council-house  was  built  of  bark.  On  each 
side  six  seats  were  placed,  each  containing  six  persons.  No  one  was  ad- 
mitted besides  the  members  of  the  council,  except  a  few,  who  were  par- 
ticularly honored.      If  one  rose  to  speak,  aU  the  rest  sat  in  profound 


10  INDIAN   TRIBES.  [Chap.  I. 

prescribed  by  time-honored  customs ;  and,  in  the 
fiercest  heat  of  controversy,  the  assembly  main- 
tained its  self-control. 

But  the  main  stay  of  Iroquois  polity  was  the 
system  of  totemshij:).  It  was  this  which  gave  the 
structure  its  elastic  strength ;  and  but  for  this,  a 
mere  confederacy  of  jealous  and  warlike  tribes 
must  soon  have  been  rent  asunder  by  shocks  from 
without  or  discord  from  within,  xit  some  early 
period,  the  Iroquois  probably  formed  an  individual 
nation ;  for  the  whole  people,  irrespective  of  their 
separation  into  tribes,  consisted  of  eight  totemic 
clans ;  and  the  members  of  each  clan,  to  what 
nation  soever  they  belonged,  were  mutually  bound 
to  one  another  by  those  close  ties  of  fraternity 
which  mark  this  singular  institution.  Thus  the 
five  nations  of  the  confederacy  were  laced  together 
by  an  eight-fold  band ;  and  to  this  hour  their  slen- 
der remnants  cling  to  one  another  with  invincible 
tenacity. 

It  was  no  small  security  to  the  liberties  of  the 
Iroquois  —  liberties  w^hich  they  valued  beyond  any 

silence,  smoking  their  pipes.  The  speaker  uttered  his  words  in  a  singing 
tone,  always  rising  a  few  notes  at  the  close  of  each  sentence.  Whatever 
was  pleasing  to  the  council  was  confirmed  b}'-  all  with  the  word  Nee,  or 
Yes.  And,  at  the  end  of  each  speech,  the  whole  company  joined  in  ap- 
plauding the  speaker  by  calling  Hoho.  At  noon,  two  men  entered  bearing 
a  large  kettle  filled  with  meat,  upon  a  pole  across  their  shoulders,  which 
was  first  presented  to  the  guests.  A  large  wooden  ladle,  as  broad  and 
deep  as  a  common  bowl,  hung  with  a  hook  to  the  side  of  the  kettle,  with 
which  every  one  might  at  once  help  himself  to  as  much  as  he  could  eat. 
When  the  guests  had  eaten  their  fill,  they  begged  the  counsellors  to  do 
the  same.  The  whole  was  conducted  in  a  very  decent  and  quiet  manner. 
Indeed,  now  and  then,  one  or  the  other  would  lie  flat  upon  his  back  to  rest 
himself,  and  sometimes  they  would  stop,  joke,  and  laugh  heartily."  — 
Loskiel,  Hist.  Morav.  Miss.  138. 


Chap.  I.]  THE   IROQUOIS.  H 

Other  possession  —  that  by  the  Indian  custom  of 
descent  in  the  female  line,  which  among  them  was 
more  rigidly  adhered  to  than  elsewhere,  the  office 
of  the  sachem  must  pass,  not  to  his  son,  but  to  his 
brother,  his  sister's  son,  or  some  yet  remoter  kins- 
man. His  power  was  constantly  deflected  into  the 
collateral  branches  of  his  family ;  and  thus  one  of 
the  strongest  temptations  of  ambition  was  cut  off.^ 
The  Iroquois  had  no  laws ;  but  they  had  ancient 
customs  which  took  the  place  of  laws.  Each  man, 
or  rather,  each  clan,  was  the  avenger  of  its  own 
wrongs  ;  but  the  manner  of  the  retaliation  was 
faed  by  established  usage.  The  tribal  sachems, 
and  even  the  great  council  at  Onondaga,  had  no 
power  to  compel  the  execution  of  their  decrees ; 
yet  they  were  looked  up  to  with  a  respect  which 
the  soldier's  bayonet  or  the  sheriff's  staff  would 
never  have  commanded  ;   and  it  is  highly  to   the 

i  The  descent  of  the  sachem  ship  in  the  female  hne  was  a  custom 
universally  prevalent  among  the  Five  Nations,  or  Iroquois  proper.  Since, 
among  Indian  tribes  generally,  the  right  of  furnishing  a  sachem  was 
vested  in  some  particular  totemic  clan,  it  results  of  course  that  the  descent 
of  the  sachemsliip  must  follow  the  descent  of  the  totem ;  that  is,  if  the 
totemship  descend  in  the  female  line,  the  sachemship  must  do  the  same. 
This  custom  of  descent  in  the  female  line  prevailed  not  only  among  the 
Iroquois  proper,  but  also  among  the  Wyandots,  and  probably  among  the 
Andastes  and  the  Eries,  extinct  members  of  the  great  Iroquois  family. 
Thus,  among  any  of  these  tribes,  when  a  Wolf  warrior  married  a  Hawk 
squaw,  their  children  were  Hawks,  and  not  Wolves.  With  the  Creeks 
of  the  south,  according  to  the  observations  of  Hawkins  ( Georgia  Hist. 
Coll.  HI.  69),  the  rule  was  the  same  ;  but  among  the  Algonquins,  on  the 
contrary,  or  at  least  among  the  northern  branches  of  this  family,  the 
reverse  took  place,  the  totemships,  and  consequently  the  chieftainships, 
descending  in  the  male  line,  after  the  analogy  of  civilized  nations.  For 
this  information  concerning  the  northern  Algonquins,  I  am  indebted  to 
IVIr.  Schoolcraft,  whose  opportunities  of  observation  among  these  tribes 
have  surpassed  those  of  any  other  student  of  Indian  customs  and  char- 
acter. 


12  INDIAN  TRIBES.  [Chap.  I. 

honor  of  the  Indian  character  that  they  could 
exert  so  great  an  authority  where  there  was 
nothing  to  enforce  it  but  the  w^eight  of  moral 
power.^ 

The  origin  of  the  Iroquois  is  lost  in  hopeless 
obscurity.  That  they  came  from  tlie  west;  that 
they  came  from  the  north ;  that  they  sprang  from 
the  soil  of  New  York,  are  the  testimonies  of  three 
conflicting  traditions,  all  equally  worthless  as  aids 
to  historic  inquiry.^  It  is  at  the  era  of  their  con- 
federacy —  the  event  to  which  the  five  tribes  owed 
all  their  greatness  and  power,  and  to  which  we 
need  assign  no  remoter  date  than  that  of  a  century 
before  the  first  arrival  of  the  Dutch  in  New  York 
—  that  faint  rays  of  light  begin  to  pierce  the 
gloom,  and  the  chaotic  traditions  of  the  earlier 
epoch  mould  themselves  into  forms  more  palpable 
and  distinct. 

Taounyawatha,  the  God  of  the  Waters  —  such  is 
the  belief  of  the  Iroquois  —  descended  to  the  earth 

1  An  account  of  the  political  institutions  of  the  Iroquois  will  be  found 
in  Mr.  Moi-gan's  series  of  letters,  published  in  the  American  Review  for 
1847.  Valuable  information  may  also  be  obtained  from  Schoolcraft's  Notes 
on  the  Iroquois. 

Mr.  Morgan  is  of  opinion  that  these  institutions  were  the  result  of  "  a 
protracted  effort  of  legislation."  An  examination  of  the  customs  prevail- 
ing among  other  Indian  tribes  makes  it  probable  that  the  elements  of  the 
Iroquois  poUty  existed  among  them  from  an  indefinite  antiquity  ;  and  the 
legislation  of  which  Mr.  Morgan  speaks  could  only  involve  the  arrange- 
ment and  adjustment  of  already  existing  materials. 

Since  the  above  chapter  was  written,  Mr.  Morgan  has  published  an 
elaborate  and  very  able  work  on  the  institutions  of  the  Iroquois.  It  forms 
an  invaluable  addition  to  this  department  of  knowledge. 

2  Recorded  by  Heckewelder,  Golden,  and  Schoolcraft.  That  the  Iro- 
quois had  long  dwelt  on  the  spot  where  they  were  first  discovered  by  the 
whites,  is  rendered  probable  by  several  circumstances.  See  Mr.  Squier's 
work  on  the  Aboriginal  Monuments  of  New  York, 


Chap.  I.]  ATOTARIIO.  13 

to  instruct  his  favorite  people  in  the  arts  of  savage 
life;  and  when  he  saw  how  they  were  tormented  by 
giants,  monsters,  and  evil  spirits,  he  urged  the  divi- 
ded tribes,  for  the  common  defence,  to  band  them- 
selves together  in  an  everlasting  league.  While 
the  injunction  was  as  yet  unfulfilled,  the  sacred 
messenger  was  recalled  to  the  Great  Spirit;  but, 
before  his  departure,  he  promised  that  another 
should  appear,  empowered  to  instruct  the  people  in 
all  that  pertained  to  their  confederation.  And  ac 
cordingly,  as  a  band  of  Mohawk  warriors  was 
threading  the  funereal  labyrinth  of  an  ancient  pine 
forest,  they  heard,  amid  its  blackest  depths,  a  hoarse 
voice  chanting  in  measured  cadence  ;  and,  following 
the  sound,  they  saw,  seated  among  the  trees,  a  mon- 
ster so  hideous,  that  they  stood  benumbed  with  ter- 
ror. His  features  were  wild  and  frightful.  He  was 
encompassed  by  hissing  rattlesnakes,  which,  Medu- 
sa-like, hung  writhing  from  his  head ;  and  on  the 
ground  around  him  were  strewn  implements  of  in- 
cantation, ai,id  magic  vessels  formed  of  human  skulls. 
Eecovering  from  their  amazement,  the  warriors  could 
perceive  that  in  the  mystic  words  of  the  chant,  which 
he  still  poured  forth,  were  couched  the  laws  and 
principles  of  the  destined  confederacy.  The  tradi- 
tion further  declares  that  the  monster,  being  sur- 
rounded and  captured,  was  presently  transformed 
to  human  shape,  that  he  became  a  chief  of  tran- 
scendent wisdom  and  prowess,  and  to  the  day  of  his 
death  ruled  the  councils  of  the  now  united  tribes. 
To  this  hour  the  presiding  sachem  of  the  council  at 


14  INDIAN  TRIBES.  [Chap.  I. 

Onondaga  inherits  from  him  the  honored  name  of 
Atotarho.^ 

The  traditional  epoch  which  preceded  the  auspi- 
cious event  of  the  confederacy,  though  wrapped  in 
clovids  and  darkness,  and  defying  historic  scrutiny, 
has  yet  a  character  and  meaning  of  its  own.  The 
gloom  is  peopled  thick  with  phantoms ;  with  mon- 
sters and  prodigies,  shapes  of  wild  enormity,  yet 
offering,  in  the  Teutonic  strength  of  their  concep- 
tion, the  evidence  of  a  robustness  of  mind  unpar- 
alleled among  tribes  of  a  different  lineage.  In 
these  evil  days,  the  scattered  and  divided  Iroquois 
were  beset  with  every  form  of  peril  and  disaster. 
Giants,  cased  in  armor  of  stone,  descended  on  them 
from  the  mountains  of  the  north.  Huge  beasts 
trampled  down  their  forests  like  fields  of  grass. 
Human  heads,  with  streaming  hair  and  glaring  eye- 
balls, shot  through  the  air  like  meteors,  shedding 
pestilence  ai^d  death  throughout  the  land.  A  great 
horned  serpent  rose  from  Lake  Ontario  ;  and  only 
the  thunder-bolts  of  the  skies  could  stay  his  rava- 
ges, and  drive  him  back  to  his  native  deeps.  The 
skeletons  of  men,  victims  of  some  monster  of  the 
forest,  were  seen  swdmming  in  the  Lake  of  Teungk- 
too ;  and  around  the  Seneca  village  on  the  Hill  of 
Genundewah,  a  two-headed  serpent  coiled  himself, 
of  size  so  monstrous  that  the  wretched  people  were 
unable  to  ascend  his  scaly  sides,  and  perished  in 

1  This  preposterous  legend  was  first  briefly  related  in  the  pamphlet  of 
Cusick,  the  Tuscarora,  and  after  him  by  Mr.  Schoolcraft,  in  his  Notes 
The  cm-ious  work  of  Cusick  will  again  be  referred  to. 


Chap.  I.]  IROQUOIS  LEGENDS.  15 

multitudes  by  his  pestilential  breath.  Mortally 
wounded  at  length  by  the  magic  arrow  of  a  child, 
he  rolled  down  the  steep,  sweeping  away  the  forest 
with  his  writhings,  and  plunging  into  the  lake  be- 
low, where  he  lashed  the  black  waters  till  they 
boiled  with  blood  and  foam,  and  at  length,  exhaust- 
ed with  his  agony,  sank,  and  perished  at  the  bottom. 
Under  the  Falls  of  Niagara  dwelt  the  Spirit  of  the 
Thunder,  with  his  brood  of  giant  sons  ;  and  the 
Iroquois  trembled  in  their  villages  when,  amid  the 
blackening  shadows  of  the  storm,  they  heard  his 
deep  shout  roll  along  the  firmament. 

The  energy  of  fancy,  whence  these  barbarous 
creations  drew  their  birth,  displayed  itself,  at  a  later 
period,  in  that  peculiar  eloquence  which  the  wild 
democracy  of  the  Iroquois  tended  to  call  forth,  and 
to  which  the  mountain  and  the  forest,  the  torrent 
and  the  storm,  lent  their  stores  of  noble  imagery. 
That  to  this  imaginative  vigor  was  joined  mental 
power  of  a  different  stamp,  is  witnessed  by  the  caustic 
irony  of  Garangula  and  Sagoyewatha,  and  no  less 
by  the  subtle  policy,  sagacious  as  it  was  treacherous, 
which  marked  the  dealings  of  the  Iroquois  with 
surrounding  tribes.^ 

1  For  traditions  of  the  Iroquois  see  Schoolcraft,  N.otes,  Chap.  IX.  Cu- 
sick,  History  of  the  Five  Nations,  and  Clark,  Hist.  Onondaga,  I. 

Cusick  was  an  old  Tuscarora  Indian,  who,  being  disabled  by  an  acci- 
dent from  active  occupations,  essayed  to  become  the  historian  of  his 
people,  and  produced  a  small  pamphlet,  written  in  a  language  almost 
unintelligible,  and  filled  with  a  medley  of  traditions  in  which  a  few  grains 
of  truth  are  inextricably  mingled  with  a  tangled  mass  of  absurdities. 
He  relates  the  monstrous  legends  of  his  people  with  an  air  of  implicit 
faith,  and  traces  the  presiding  sachems  of  the  confederacy  in  regular 
descent  from  the  first  Atotarho  downwards.     His  work,  which  was  printed 


16  INDIxVN   TRIBES.  [Chap.  I. 

With  all  this  mental  superiority,  the  arts  of  life 
among  them  had  not  emerged  from  their  primitive 
rudeness  ;  and  their  coarse  pottery,  their  spear  and 
arrow  heads  of  stone,  were  in  no  way  superior  to 
those  of  many  other  tribes.  Their  agriculture  de- 
serves a  higher  praise.  In  1696,  the  invading 
army  of  Count  Frontenac  found  the  maize  fields 
extending  a  league  and  a  half  or  two  leagues  from 
their  villages  ;  and,  in  1779,  the  troops  of  General 
Sullivan  were  filled  with  amazement  at  their  abun- 
dant stores  of  corn,  beans,  and  squashes,  and  at 
the  old  apple  orchards  which  grew  around  their 
settlements. 

Their  dwellings  and  works  of  defence  were  far 
from  contemptible,  either  in  their  dimensions  or  in 
their  structure  ;  and  though  by  the  several  attacks 
of  the  French,  and  especially  by  the  invasion  of 
De  Nonville,  in  1687,  and  of  Frontenac,  nine  years 
later,  their  fortified  towns  were  levelled  to  the  earth, 
never  again  to  reappear  ;  yet,  in  the  works  of  C  iam- 
plain  and  other  early  writers  we  find  abundant  evi- 
dence of  theii'  pristine  condition.  Along  the  banks 
of  the  Mohawk,  among  the  hills  and  hollows  of 
Onondaga,  in  the  forests  of  Oneida  and  Ca  uga, 
on  the  romantic  shores  of  Seneca  Lake  and  the 
rich  borders  of  the  Genessee,  surrounded  by  waving 
maize  fields,  and  encircled  from  afar  by  the  green 
margin  of  the  forest,  stood  the  ancient  strongholds 
of  the  confederacy.     The  clustering  dwellings  were 

at  the  Tuscarora  village,  near  Lewiston,  in  1828,  is  illustrated  bj  several 
rude  engravings  representing  the  Stone  Giants,  the  Flying  Heads,  and 
other  traditional  monsters. 


Chap.  I.]  IROQUOIS   DWELLINGS.  17 

encompassed  by  palisades,  in  single,  double,  or  triple 
rows,  pierced  with  loopholes,  furnished  with  plat- 
forms within,  for  the  convenience  of  the  defenders, 
with  magazines  of  stones  to  hurl  upon  the  heads  of 
the  enemy,  and  with  water  conductors  to  extinguish 
any  fire  which  might  be  kindled  from  without.^ 

The  area  which  these  defences  enclosed  was  often 
several  acres  in  extent,  and  the  dwellings,  ranged  in 
order  within,  were  sometimes  more  than  a  hundred 
feet  in  length.  Posts,  firmly  driven  into  the  ground, 
with  an  intervening  framework  of  poles,  formed  the 
basis  of  the  structure;  and  its  sides  and  arched 
roof  were  closely  covered  with  layers  of  elm  bark. 
Each  of  the  larger  dwellings  contained  several  dis- 
tinct families,  whose  separate  fires  were  built  along 
the  central  space,  while  compartments  on  each  side, 
like  the  stalls  of  a  stable,  afi'orded  some  degree  of 
privacy.  Here,  rude  couches  were  prepared,  and 
bear  and  deer  skins  spread ;  while  above,  the 
ripened  ears  of  maize,  suspended  in  rows,  formed 
a  golden  tapestry.^ 

1  Lafitau,  Mceurs  des  Sauvages  Ameriquains,  11.  4-10. 

Frontenac,  in  his  expedition  against  the  Ouondagas,  in  1696  (see  Offi- 
cial Journal,  Doc.  Hist.  New  York,  I.  332),  found  one  of  their  villages  built 
in  an  oblong  form,  with  four  bastions.  The  wall  was  formed  of  three 
rows  of  pahsades,  those  of  the  outer  row  being  forty  or  fifty  feet  liigh. 
The  usual  figure  of  the  Iroquois  villages  was  circular  or  oval,  and  in  this 
instance  the  bastions  were  no  doubt  the  suggestion  of  some  European 
adviser. 

2  Bartram  gives  the  following  account  of  the  great  council-house  at 
Onondaga,  which  he  visited  in  1743  :  — 

"  We  alighted  at  the  council-house,  where  the  chiefs  were  already 
assembled  to  receive  us,  which  they  did  with  a  grave,  cheerful  complai- 
sance, according  to  their  custom ;  they  shew'd  us  where  to  lay  our  bag- 
gage, and  repose  ourselves  during  our  stay  with  them  ;  which  was  in  the 
two  end  apartments  of  this  large  house.     The  Indians  that  came  with  us 

2 


18  INDIAN  TRIBES.  [Chap.  I. 

In  the  long  evenings  of  midwinter,  when  in  the 
wilderness  without  the  trees  cracked  with  biting 
cold,  and  the  forest  paths  were  clogged  with  snow, 
then,  around  the  lodge-fires  of  the  Iroquois,  war- 
riors, squaws,  and  restless  naked  children  were 
clustered  in  social  groups,  each  dark  face  brighten- 
ing in  the  fickle  firelight,  while,  with  jest  and  laugh, 
the  pipe  passed  round  from  hand  to  hand.  Perhaps 
some  shrivelled  old  warrior,  the  story-teller  of  the 
tribe,  recounted  to  attentive  ears  the  deeds  of  an- 
cient heroism,  legends  of  spirits  and  monsters,  or 
tales  of  witches  and  vampires  —  superstitions  not 
less  rife  among  this  all-believing  race,  than  among 
the  nations  of  the  transatlantic  world. 

The  life  of  the  Iroquois,  though  void  of  those 
multiplying  phases  which  vary  the  routine  of  civil- 
ized existence,  w^as  one  of  sharp  excitement  and 
sudden  contrast.       The    chase,  the  war-path,  the 

were  placed  over  against  us.  This  cabin  is  about  eighty  "feet  long  and 
seventeen  broad,  the  common  passage  six  feet  wide,  and  the  apartments 
on  each  side  five  feet,  raised  a  foot  above  the  passage  by  a  long  sapling, 
hewed  square,  and  fitted  with  joists  that  go  from  it  to  the  back  of  the 
house  ;  on  these  joists  they  lay  large  pieces  of  bark,  and  on  extraordinary 
occasions  spread  mats  made  of  rushes :  this  favor  we  had  ;  on  these  floors 
they  set  or  lye  down,  every  one  as  he  will ;  the  apartments  are  divided 
from  each  other  by  boards  or  bark,  six  or  seven  foot  long,  from  the  lower 
floor  to  the  upper,  on  which  they  put  their  lumber  ;  when  they  have  eaten 
their  homony,  as  they  set  in  each  apartment  before  the  fire,  they  can  put 
the  bowl  over  head,  having  not  above  five  foot  to  reach  ;  they  set  on  the 
floor  sometimes  at  each  end,  but  mostly  at  one  ;  they  have  a  shed  to  put 
their  wood  into  in  the  winter,  or  in  the  summer  to  set  to  converse  or 
play,  that  has  a  door  to  the  south  ;  all  the  sides  and  roof  of  the  cabin  are 
made  of  bark,  bound  fast  to  poles  set  in  the  ground,  and  bent  round  on  the 
top,  or  set  aflatt,  for  the  roof,  as  we  set  our  rafters ;  over  each  fireplace 
they  leave  a  hole  to  let  out  the  smoke,  which,  in  rainy  weather,  they 
cover  with  a  piece  of  bark,  and  this  they  can  easily  reach  with  a  pole  to 
push  it  on  one  side  or  quite  over  the  hole  ;  after  this  model  are  most  of 
their  cabins  built."  —  Bartram,  Observations,  40. 


Chap.  I.]  IROQUOIS  LITE.  19 

dance,  the  festival,  the  game  of  hazard,  the  race  of 
political  ambition,  all  had  their  votaries.  When 
the  assembled  sachems  had  resolved  on  war  against 
some  foreign  tribe,  and  when,  from  their  great  coun- 
cil-house of  bark,  in  the  Valley  of  Onondaga,  their 
messengers  had  gone  forth  to  invite  the  warriors  to 
arms,  then  from  east  to  west,  through  the  farthest 
bounds  of  the  confederacy,  a  thousand  warlike 
hearts  caught  up  the  summons.  With  fasting  and 
praying,  and  consulting  dreams  and  omens  ;  with 
invoking  the  war-god,  and  dancing  the  war-dance, 
the  warriors  sought  to  insure  the  triumph  of  their 
arms ;  and  then,  their  rites  concluded,  they  be- 
gan their  stealthy  progress  through  the  devious 
pathways  of  the  forest.  For  days  and  weeks,  in 
anxious  expectation,  the  villagers  awaited  the  re- 
sult. And  now,  as  evening  closed,  a  shrill,  wild 
cry,  pealing  from  afar,  over  the  darkening  forest, 
proclaimed  the  return  of  the  victorious  warriors. 
The  village  was  alive  with  sudden  commotion  ;  and 
snatching  sticks  and  stones,  knives  and  hatchets, 
men,  women,  and  children,  yelling  like  fiends  let 
loose,  swarmed  out  of  the  narrow  portal,  to  visit 
upon  the  captives  a  foretaste  of  the  deadlier  tor- 
ments in  store  for  them.  The  black  arches  of  the 
forest  glowed  with  the  fires  of  death;  and  with 
brandished  torch  and  firebrand  the  frenzied  multi- 
tude closed  around  their  victim.  The  pen  shrinks 
to  write,  the  heart  sickens  to  conceive,  the  fierce- 
ness of  his  agony ;  yet  still,  amid  the  din  of  his 
tormentors,  rose  his  clear  voice  of  scorn  and  defi- 
ance.    The  work  was  done ;  the  blackened  trunk 


20  INDIAN  TRIBES.  [Chap.  I. 

was  flung  to  the  dogs,  and,  with  clamorous  shouts 
and  hootmgs,  the  murderers  sought  to  drive  away 
the  spirit  of  their  victim.^ 

The  Iroquois  reckoned  these  barbarities  among 
their  most  exquisite  enjoyments  ;  and  yet  they  had 
other  sources  of  pleasure,  which  made  up  in  fre- 
quency and  in  innocence  what  they  lacked  in 
intensity.  Each  passing  season  had  its  feasts  and 
dances,  often  mingling  religion  with  social  pastime. 
The  young  had  their  frolics  and  merry-makings  ; 
and  the  old  had  their  no  less  frequent  councils, 
where  conversation  and  laughter  alternated  with 
grave  deliberations  for  the  public  weal.  There 
were  also  stated  periods  marked  by  the  recurrence 
of  momentous  ceremonies,  in  which  the  whole 
community  took  part  —  the  mystic  sacrifice  of  the 
dogs,  the  orgies  of  the  dream  feast,  and  the  loath- 
some festival  of  the  exhumation  of  the  dead.  Yet 
in  the  intervals  of  war  and  hunting,  these  resour- 
ces would  often  fail ;  and,  while  the  women  were 
toiling  in  the  cornfields,  the  lazy  warriors  beguiled 


1  "Being  at  this  place  the  17  of  June,  there  came  fifty  prisoners  from 
the  south-westward.  They  were  of  two  nations,  some  whereof  have  few 
guns ;  the  other  none  at  all.  One  nation  is  about  ten  days'  journey  from 
any  Christians,  and  trade  onely  with  one  greatt  house,  nott  farr  from  the 
sea,  and  the  other  trade  onely,  as  they  say,  with  a  black  people.  This  day 
of  them  was  burnt  two  women,  and  a  man  and  a  child  killed  with  a  stone. 
Att  night  we  heard  a  great  noyse  as  if  y«  houses  had  all  fallen,  butt  itt 
was  only  y^  inhabitants  driving  away  y®  ghosts  of  y«  murthered. 

"  The  18*^  going  to  Canagorah,  that  day  there  were  most  cruelly 
burnt  four  men,  four  women  and  one  boy.  The  cruelty  lasted  aboutt 
seven  hours.  When  they  were  almost  dead  letting  them  loose  to  the 
mercy  of  y®  boys,  and  taking  the  hearts  of  such  as  were  dead  to  feast  on." 
—  Greenhalgh,  Journal,  1677. 


CuAP.  I.]  IROQUOIS   POPULATION.  21 

the  hours  with  smokmg  or  sleeping,  with  gambling 
or  gallantry.^ 

If  we  seek  for  a  single  trait  preeminently  char- 
acteristic of  the  Iroquois,  we  shall  find  it  in  that 
boundless  pride  which  impelled  them  to  style  them- 
selves, not  inaptly  as  regards  their  own  race,  "  the 
men  surpassing  all  others."  ^  "  Must  I,"  exclaimed 
one  of  their  great  warriors,  as  he  fell  wounded 
among  a  crowd  of  Algonquins,  —  "must  I,  who 
have  made  the  whole  earth  tremble,  now  die  by 
the  hands  of  children  ?  "  Their  power  kept  pace 
with  their  pride.  Their  war-parties  roamed  over 
half  America,  and  their  name  was  a  terror  from 
the  Atlantic  to  the  Mississippi ;  but,  when  we  ask 
the  numerical  strength  of  the  dreaded  confederacy, 
when  we  discover  that,  in  the  days  of  their  greatest 
triumphs,  their  united  cantons  could  not  have  mus- 
tered four  thousand  warriors,  we  stand  amazed  at 
the  folly  and  dissension  which  left  so  vast  a  region 
the  prey  of  a  handful  of  bold  marauders.  Of  the 
cities  and  villages  now  so  thickly  scattered  over  the 
lost  domain  of  the  Iroquois,  a  single  one  might 
boast  a  more  numerous  population  than  all  the  five 
united  tribes.^ 

1  For  an  account  of  the  habits  and  customs  of  the  Iroquois,  the  follow- 
ing works,  besides  those  already  cited,  may  be  referred  to  :  — 

Charlevoix,  Letters  to  the  Duchess  of  Lesdiguieres ;  Champlain,  Voyages 
de  la  Nouv.  France ;  Clark,  Hist.  Onondaga,  I.,  and  several  volumes  of  the 
Jesuit  Relations,  especially  those  of  1656-1657  and  1659-1660. 

2  This  is  Colden's  translation  of  the  word  Ongwehonwe,  one  of  the 
names  of  the  Iroquois. 

3  La  Hontan  estimated  the  Iroquois  at  from  five  thousand  to  seven 
thousand  fighting  men  ;  but  his  means  of  information  were  very  imper- 
fect, and  the  same  may  be  said  of  several  other  French  writers,  who 
have  overrated  the  force  of  the  confederacy.     In  1677,  the  English  sent 


22  INDIAN   TRIBES.  [Chap.  I. 

From  this  remarkable  people,  who  with  all  the 
ferocity  of  their  race  blended  heroic  virtues  and 
marked  endowments  of  intellect,  I  pass  to  other 
members  of  the  same  great  family,  wdiose  different 
fortunes  may  perhaps  be  ascribed  rather  to  the 
force  of  circumstance,  than  to  any  intrinsic  inferi- 
ority. 

The  peninsula  between  the  Lakes  Huron,  Erie, 
and  Ontario  was  occupied  by  two  distinct  peoples, 
speaking  dialects  of  the  Iroquois  tongue.  The 
Hurons  or  Wyandots,  including  the  tribe  called  by 
the  French  the  Dionondadies,  or  Tobacco  Nation,^ 
dwelt  among  the  forests  which  bordered  the  east- 
ern shores  of  the  fresh  water  sea,  to  which  they 
have  left  their  name  ;  while  the  Neutral  Nation,  so 
called  from  their  neutrality  in  the  war  between  the 
Hurons  and  the  Five  Nations,  inhabited  the  north- 
ern shores  of  Lake  Erie,  and  even  extended  their 
eastern  flank  across  the  strait  of  Niagara. 

The  population  of  the  Hurons  has  been  variously 
stated  at  from  ten  thousand  to  thirty  thousand 
souls,  but  probably  did  not  exceed  the  former  esti- 


one  Greenhalgh  to  ascertain  their  numbers.  He  visited  all  their  towns 
and  villages,  and  reported  their  aggregate  force  at  two  thousand  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  fighting  men.  The  report  of  Colonel  Coursey,  agent  from 
Virginia,  at  about  the  same  period,  closely  corresponds  with  this  state- 
ment. Greenhalgh's  Journal  will  be  found  in  Chalmers's  Political  Annals, 
and  in  the  Documentary  History  of  New  York.  Subsequent  estimates,  up 
to  the  period  of  the  Revolution,  when  their  strength  had  much  declined, 
vary  from  twelve  hundred  to  two  thousand  one  hundred  and  twenty. 
Most  of  these  estimates  are  given  by  Clinton,  in  his  Discourse  on  the  Five 
Nations,  and  several  by  Jefferson,  in  his  Notes  on  Virginia. 

1  Hurons,  Wyandots,  Yendots,  Ouendaets,  Quatogies. 

The  Dionondadies  are  also  designated  by  the  following  names : 
Tionontatez,  Petuneux  —  Nation  of  Tobacco. 


Chap.  L]  THE   HURONS.  23 

mate.  The  Franciscans  and  the  Jesuits  were  early 
among  them,  and  from  their  descriptions  it  is  ap- 
parent that,  in  legends  and  superstitions,  manners 
and  habits,  religious  observances  and  social  cus- 
toms, they  were  closely  assimilated  to  their  brethren 
of  the  Five  Nations.  Their  capacious  dwellings 
of  bark,  and  their  palisaded  forts,  seemed  copied 
after  the  same  model. ^  Like  the  Five  Nations, 
they  were  divided  into  tribes,  and  cross-divided  into 
totemic  clans  ;  and,  as  with  them,  the  office  of 
sachem  descended  in  the  female  line.  The  same 
crude  materials  of  a  political  fabric  were  to  be 
found  in  both  ;  but,  unlike  the  Iroquois,  the  Wy- 
andots  had  not  as  yet  wrought  them  into  a  system, 
and  woven  them  into  a  harmonious  whole. 

Like  the  Five  Nations,  the  Wyandots  were  in 
some  measure  an  agricultural  people  ;  they  bartered 
the  surplus  products  of  their  maize  fields  to  sur- 
rounding tribes,  usually  receiving  fish  in  exchange  ; 
and  this  traffic  was  so  considerable,  that  the  Jesuits 
styled  their  country  the  Granary  of  the  Algon- 
quins.^ 

Their  prosperity  was  rudely  broken  by  the 
hostilities  of  the  Five  Nations  ;  for  though  the  con- 
flicting parties  were  not  ill  matched  in  point  of 
numbers,  yet  the  united  counsels  and  ferocious 
energies  of  the  confederacy  swept  all  before  them. 
In  the  year   16^9,   in  the  depth   of  winter,  their 

1  See  Sagard,  Hurons,  115. 

2  Bancroft,  in  his  chapter  on  the  Indians  east  of  the  Mississippi,  falls 
into  a  mistake  when  he  says  that  no  trade  was  carried  on  by  any  of  the 
tribes.  For  an  account  of  the  traffic  between  the  Hurons  and  Algonquins, 
see  Mercier,  Relation  des  Hurons,  1637,  p.  171. 


24  INDIAN   TRIBES.  [Chap.  1. 

warriors  invaded  the  country  of  the  Wyandots, 
stormed  their  largest  villages,  and  involved  all 
within  in  indiscriminate  slaughter.^  The  survivors 
fled  in  panic  terror,  and  the  whole  nation  was 
broken  and  dispersed. 

Some  found  refuge  among  the  French  of  Canada, 
where,  at  the  village  of  Lorette,  near  Quebec,  their 
descendants  still  remain ;  others  were  incorporated 
with  their  conquerors  ;  while  others  again  fled 
northward,  beyond  Lake  Superior,  and  sought  an 
asylum  among  the  wastes  which  bordered  on  the 
north-eastern  bands  of  the  Dahcotah.  Driven  back 
by  those  fierce  bison-hunters,  they  next  established 
themselves  about  the  outlet  of  Lake  Superior,  and 
the  shores  and  islands  in  the  northern  parts  of 
Lake  Huron.  Thence,  about  the  year  1680,  they 
descended  to  Detroit,  where  they  formed  a  per- 
manent settlement,  and  where,  by  their  superior 
valor,  capacity,  and  address,  they  soon  acquired  an 
ascendency  over  the  surrounding  Algonquins. 

The  ruin  of  the  Neutral  Nation  followed  close 
on  that  of  the  Wyandots,  to  whom,  according  to 
Jesuit  authority,  they  bore  an  exact  resemblance  in 
character  and  manners.^  The  Senecas  soon  found 
means  to  pick  a  quarrel  with  them ;  they  were 
assailed  by  all  the  strength  of  the  insatiable  con- 
federacy, and  within  a  few  years  their  destruction 
as  a  nation  was  complete. 

South  of  Lake  Erie  dwelt  two  members  of  the 

1  See  "  Jesuits  in  North  America." 

2  According  to  Lallemant,  the  population  of  the  Neutral  Nation 
amounted  to  at  least  twelve  thousand  ;  but  the  estimate  is  probably 
exaggerated.  —  Relation  cles  Hiirons,  1641,  p.  50. 


Chap.  I.]  ANDASTES ;  ERIES.  25 

Iroquois  family.  The  Andastes  built  their  fortified 
villages  along  the  valley  of  the  Lower  Susque- 
hanna ;  while  the  Erigas,  or  Eries,  occupied  the 
borders  of  the  lake  which  still  retains  their  name. 
Of  these  two  nations  little  is  known,  for  the  Jesuits 
had  no  missions  among  them,  and  few  traces  of 
them  survive  beyond  their  names  and  the  record 
of  their  destruction.  The  war  with  the  Wyandots 
was  scarcely  over,  when  the  Five  Nations  turned 
their  arms  against  their  Erie  brethren. 

In  the  year  1655,  using  their  canoes  as  scaling 
ladders,  they  stormed  the  Erie  stronghold,  leaped 
down  like  tigers  among  the  defenders,  and  butch- 
ered them  without  mercy.-^  The  greater  part  of 
the  nation  was  involved  in  the  massacrp,  and  the 
remnant  was  incorporated  with  the  conquerors,  or 
with  other  tribes,  to  which  they  fled  for  refuge. 
The  ruin  of  the  Andastes  came  next  in  turn ;  but 
this  brave  people  fought  for  twenty  years  against 
their  inexorable  assailants,  and  their  destruction 
was  not  consummated  until  the  year  1672,  w^hen 
they  shared  the  fate  of  the  rest.^ 

Thus,  within  less  than  a  quarter  of  a  century, 
four  nations,  the  most  brave  and  powerful  of  the 
North  American  savages,  sank  before  the  arms  of 
the  confederates.  Nor  did  their  triumphs  end 
here.     Within  the  same  short  space  they  subdued 


1  The  Iroquois  traditions  on  this  subject,  as  related  to  thfe  writer  by 
a  chief  of  the  Cayugas,  do  not  agree  with  the  narratives  of  the  Jesuits. 
It  is  not  certain  that  the  Eries  were  of  the  Iroquois  family.  There  is 
some  reason  to  beheve  them  Algonquins,  and  possibly  identical  with  the 
Shawanoes. 

2  Charlevoix,  Nouvelle  France,  I.  443. 


26  INDIAN   TRIBES.  [Chap.  I. 

their  southern  neighbors  the  Lenape/  the  leading 
members  of  the  Algonquin  family,  and  expelled 
the  Ottawas,  a  numerous  people  of  the  same  lin- 
eage, from  the  borders  of  the  river  which  bears 
their  name.  In  the  north,  the  west,  and  the  south, 
their  conquests  embraced  every  adjacent  tribe  ;  and 
meanwhile  their  war  parties  were  harassing  the 
French  of  Canada  with  reiterated  inroads,  and 
yelling  the  war-whoop  under  the  walls  of  Quebec. 
They  were  the  worst  of  conquerors.  Inordinate 
pride,  the  lust  of  blood  and  dominion,  were  the 
mainsprings  of  their  warfare  ;  and  their  victories 
were  stained  with  every  excess  of  savage  passion. 
That  their  triumphs  must  have  cost  them  dear ; 
that,  in  spite  of  their  cautious  tactics,  these  multi- 
plied conflicts  must  have  greatly  abridged  their 
strength,  would  appear  inevitable.  Their  losses 
were,  in  fact,  considerable ;  but  every  breach  was 
repaired  by  means  of  a  practice  to  which  they,  in 
common  with  other  tribes,  constantly  adhered. 
When  their  vengeance  was  glutted  by  the  sacrifice 
of  a  sufficient  number  of  captives,  they  spared  the 
lives  of  the  remainder,  and  adopted  them  as  mem- 
bers of  their  confederated  tiibes,  separating  wives 
from  husbands,  and  children  from  parents,  and  dis- 
tributing them  among  different  villages,  in  order 
that  old  ties  and  associations  might  be  more  com- 
pletely broken  up.  This  policy  is  said  to  have 
been  designated  among  them  by  a  name  which 
signifies  "  flesh  cut  into  pieces  and  scattered  among 
the  tribes." 

1  Gallatin  places  the  final  subjection  of  the  Lenape  at  about  the  year 
1750 — a  printer's  error  for  1650.  —  Synopsis,  48. 


Chap.  I]  IROQUOIS   FAMILY.  27 

In  the  years  1714-15,  the  confederacy  received 
a  great  accession  of  strength.  Southwards,  about 
the  headwaters  of  the  rivers  Neuse  and  Tar,  and 
separated  from  their  kindred  tribes  by  intervening 
Algonquin  communities,  dwelt  the  Tuscaroras,  a 
warlike  people  belonging  to  the  generic  stock  of 
the  Iroquois.  The  WTongs  inflicted  by  white  set- 
tlers, and  their  own  undistinguishing  vengeance, 
involved  them  in  a  war  wdth  the  colonists,  which 
resulted  in  their  defeat  and  expulsion.  They  emi- 
grated to  the  Five  Nations,  whose  allies  they  had 
been  in  former  wars  with  southern  tribes,  and  who 
now  gladly  received  them,  admitting  them  as  a 
sixth  nation,  into  their  confederacy. 

It  is  a  remark  of  Gallatin,  that,  in  their  career 
of  conquest,  the  Five  Nations  encountered  more 
stubborn  resistance  from  the  tribes  of  their  own 
family,  than  from  those  of  a  different  lineage.  In 
truth,  all  the  scions  of  this  warlike  stock  seem 
endued  with  singular  vitality  and  force,  and  among 
them  we  must  seek  for  the  best  type  of  the  Indian 
character.  Few  tribes  could  match  them  in  prow^- 
ess,  constancy,  moral  energy,  or  intellectual  vigor. 
The  Jesuits  remarked  that  they  were  more  intelli- 
gent, yet  less  tractable,  than  other  savages  ;  and 
Charlevoix  observes  that,  though  the  Algonquins 
were  readily  converted,  they  made  but  fickle  prose- 
lytes ;  while  the  Hurons,  though  not  easily  w^on 
over  to  the  church,  were  far  more  faithful  in  their 
adherence.^  Of  this  tribe,  the  Hurons  or  Wyan- 
dots,  a  candid  and  experienced  observer  declares, 

1  Nouvelk  France,  I.  196. 


28  INDIAN  TRIBES.  [Chap.  I. 

that  of  .all  the  Indians  with  -whom  he  was  conver- 
sant, they  alone  held  it  disgraceful  to  turn  from  the 
face  of  an  enemy  when  the  fortunes  of  the  fight 
were  adverse.^ 

Besides  these  inherent  qualities,  the  tribes  of  the 
Iroquois  race  derived  great  advantages  from  their 
superior  social  organization.  They  were  all,  more 
or  less,  tillers  of  the  soil,  and  were  thus  enabled 
to  concentrate  a  more  numerous  population  than 
the  scattered  tribes  who  live  by  the  chase  alone.  In 
their  well-peopled  and  well-constructed  villages, 
they  dwelt  together  the  greater  part  of  the  year; 
and  thence  the  religious  rites  and  social  and  po- 
litical usages,  which  elsewhere  existed  only  in  the 
germ,  attained  among  them  a  full  development. 
Yet  these  advantages  were  not  without  alloy,  and 
the  Jesuits  were  not  slow  to  remark  that  the  sta- 
tionary and  thriving  Iroquois  were  more  loose  in 
their  observance  of  social  ties,  than  the  wandering 
and  starving  savages  of  the  north.^ 

THE    ALGONQUIN    FAMH^Y. 

Except  the  detached  nation  of  the  Tuscaroras, 
and  a  few  smaller  tribes  adhering  to  them,  the  Iro- 
quois family  was  confined  to  the  region  south  of 
the  Lakes  Erie  and  Ontario,  and  the  peninsula  east 

1  William  Henry  Harrison,  Discourse  on  the  Aborigines  of  the  Ohio.  See 
Ohio  Hist.  Trans.  Part  Second,  I.  257. 

2  "  Here  y^^  Indyans  were  very  desirous  to  see  us  ride  our  horses,  w^h 
wee  did  :  they  made  great  feasts  and  dancing,  and  invited  us  y*  when  all 
y«  maides  were  together,  both  wee  and  our  Indyans  might  choose  such  as 
lyked  us  to  ly  with." —  Greenhalgh,  Journal. 


Chap.  I.]  ALGONQUINS.  29 

of  Lake  Huron.  They  formed,  as  it  were,  an 
island  in  the  vast  expanse  of  Algonquin  population, 
extending  from  Hudson's  Bay  on  the  north  to  the 
Carolinas  on  the  south  ;  from  the  Atlantic  on  the 
east  to  the  Mississippi  and  Lake  Winnipeg  on  the 
west.  They  were  Algonquins  who  greeted  Jacques 
Cartier,  as  his  ships  ascended  the  St.  Lawrence. 
The  first  British  colonists  found  savages  of  the 
same  race  hunting  and  fishing  along  the  coasts  and 
inlets  of  Virginia;  and  it  was  the  daughter  of  an 
Algonquin  chief  who  interceded  with  her  father 
for  the  life  of  the  adventurous  Englishman.  They 
were  Algonquins  who,  under  Sassacus  the  Pequot, 
and  Philip  of  Mount  Hope,  waged  war  against 
the  Puritans  of  New  England;  who  dwelt  at 
Penacook,  under  the  rule  of  the  great  magician, 
Passaconaway,  and  trembled  before  the  evil  spirits 
of  the  White  Hills  ;  and  who  sang  aves  and  told 
their  beads  in  the  forest  chapel  of  Father  Rasles, 
by  the  banks  of  the  Kennebec.  They  were  Algon- 
quins who,  under  the  great  tree  at  Kensington, 
made  the  covenant  of  peace  with  William  Penn ; 
and  when  French  Jesuits  and  fur-traders  explored 
the  Wabash  and  the  Ohio,  they  found  their  val- 
leys tenanted  by  the  same  far-extended  race.  At 
the  present  day,  the  traveller,  perchance,  may  find 
them  pitching  their  bark  lodges  along  the  beach 
at  Mackinaw,  spearing  fish  among  the  rapids  of 
St.  Mary's,  or  skimming  the  waves  of  Lake  Supe- 
rior in  their  birch  canoes. 

Of  all  the  members   of  the  Algonquin  family, 
those  called  by  the  English  the  Dela wares,  by  the 


30  "  INDIAN  TRIBES.  [Chap.  I. 

French  the  Loups,  and  by  themselves  Lenni  Le- 
nape,  or  Original  Men,  hold  the  first  claim  to 
attention  ;  for  their  traditions  declare  them  to  be 
the  parent  stem  whence  other  Algonquin  tribes Jhave 
sprung.  The  latter  recognized  the  claim,  and,  at 
all  solemn  councils,  accorded  to  the  ancestral  tribe 
the  title  of  Grandfather.^ 

The  first  European  colonists  found  the  conical 
lodges  of  the  Lenape  clustered  in  frequent  groups 
about  the  waters  of  the  Delaware  and  its  tributary 
streams,  within  the  present  limits  of  New  Jersey, 
and  Eastern  Pennsylvania.  The  nation  was  sepa- 
rated into  three  divisions,  and  three  sachems  formed 
a  triumvirate,  who,  with  the  council  of  old  men, 
regulated  all  its  affairs.^  They  were,  in  some  small 
measure,  an  agricultural  people ;  but  fishing  and 
the  chase  were  their  chief  dependence,  and  through 
a  great  part  of  the  year  they  were  scattered  abroad, 
among  forests  and  streams,  in  search  of  sustenance. 

When  WilUam  Penn  held  his  far-famed  council 
with  the  sachems  of  the  Lenape,  he  extended  the 
hand  of  brotherhood  to  a  people  as  unwarlike  in 
their  habits  as  his  own  pacific  followers.  This  is 
by  no  means  to  be  ascribed  to  any  inborn  love  of 
peace.  The  Lenape  were  then  in  a  state  of  degrad- 
ing vassalage  to  the  Five  Nations,  who,  that  they 
might  drain  to  the  dregs  the  cup  of  humiliation, 

1  The  Lenape,  on  their  part,  call  the  other  Algonquin  tribes  Children, 
Grandchildren,  Nephews,  or  Younger  Brothers  ;  but  they  confess  the 
superiority  of  the  Wyandots  and  the  Five  Nations,  by  yielding  them  the 
title  of  Uncles.  They,  in  return,  call  the  Lenape  Nephews,  or  more  fre- 
quently Cousins. 

2  Loskiel,  Part  I.  130. 


Chap.  I.J  DELA  WARES.  31 

had  forced  them  to  assume  the  name  of  Women, 
and  forego  the  use  of  arms.^  DweUing  under  the 
shadow  of  the  tyrannical  confederacy,  they  were 
long  unable  to  Avipe  out  the  blot ;  but  at  length, 
pushed  from  their  ancient  seats  by  the  encroach- 
ments of  white  men,  and  removed  westward,  par- 
tially beyond  the  reach  of  their  conquerors,  their 
native  spirit  began  to  revive,  and  they  assumed  a 
tone  of  defiance.  During  the  Old  French  War 
they  resumed  the  use  of  arms,  and  while  the  Five 
Nations  fought  for  the  English,  they  espoused  the 
cause  of  France.  At  the  opening  of  the  Ee volu- 
tion, they  boldly  asserted  their  freedom  from  the 
yoke  of  their  conquerors ;  and  a  few  years  after, 
the  Five  Nations  confessed,  at  a  public  council,  that 
the  Lenape  were  no  longer  women,  but  men.^ 
Ever  since  that  period,  they  have  stood  in  high 
repute  for  bravery,  generosity,  and  all  the  savage 
virtues  ;  and  the  settlers  of  the  frontier  have  often 
found,  to  their  cost,  that  the  loomen  of  the  Iroquois 
have  been  transformed  into  a  race  of  formidable 
warriors.  At  the  present  day,  the  small  remnant 
settled  beyond  the  Mississippi  are  among  the  bravest 
marauders  of  the  west.  Their  war-parties  pierce  the 
farthest  wilds  of  the  Eocky  Mountains ;   and  the 

1  The  story  told  by  the  Lenape  themselves,  and  recorded  with  the 
utmost  good  faith  by  Loskiel  and  Heckewelder,  that  the  Five  Nations 
had  not  conquered  them,  but,  by  a  cunning  artifice,  had  cheated  them 
into  subjection,  is  wholly  unworthy  of  credit.  It  is  not  to  be  believed  that 
a  people  so  acute  and  suspicious  could  be  the  dupes  of  so  palpable  a  trick ; 
and  it  is  equally  incredible  that  a  high-spirited  tribe  could  be  induced,  by 
the  most  persuasive  rhetoric,  to  assume  the  name  of  Women,  which  in 
Indian  eyes  is  the  last  confession  of  abject  abasement. 

2  Heckewelder,  Hist.  Ind.  Nat.  53. 


32  INDIAN   TRIBES.  [Chap.  L 

prairie  traveller  may  sometimes  meet  the  Delaware 
warrior  returning  from  a  successful  foray,  a  gaudy 
handkerchief  bound  about  his  brows,  his  snake 
locks  fluttering  in  the  wind,  and  his  rifle  resting 
across  his  saddle-bow,  while  the  tarnished  and 
begrimed  equipments  of  his  half-wild  horse  bear 
witness  that  the  rider  has  waylaid  and  plundered 
some  Mexican  cavalier. 

Adjacent  to  the  Lenape,  and  associated  with  them 
in  some  of  the  most  notable  passages  of  their  his- 
tory, dwelt  the  Shawanoes,  the  Chaouanons  of  the 
French,  a  tribe  of  bold,  roving,  and  adventurous 
spirit.  Their  eccentric  wanderings,  their  sudden 
appearances  and  disappearances,  perplex  the  anti- 
quary, and  defy  research ;  but  from  various  scat- 
tered notices,  we  may  gather  that  at  an  early 
period  they  occupied  the  valley  of  the  Ohio  ;  that, 
becoming  embroiled  with  the  Five  Nations,  they 
shared  the  defeat  of  the  Andastes,  and  about  the 
year  1672  fled  to  escape  destruction.  Some  found 
an  asylum  in  the  country  of  the  Lenape,  where 
they  lived  tenants  at  will  of  the  Five  Nations ; 
others  sought  refuge  in  the  Carolinas  and  Florida, 
where,  true  to  their  native  instincts,  they  soon  came 
to  blows  with  the  owners  of  the  soil.  Agam,  turn- 
ing northwards,  they  formed  new  settlements  in  the 
valley  of  the  Ohio,  where  they  were  now  suffered 
to  dwell  in  peace,  and  where,  at  a  later  period,  they 
were  joined  by  such  of  their  brethren  as  had  found 
refuge  among  the  Lenape.^ 

1  The  evidence  concerning  the  movements  of  the  Shawanoes  is  well 
Bummed  up  by  Gallatin,  Synopsis,  65.    See  also  Drake,  Life  of  Tecumseh,  10 


Chap.  I.]  ILLINOIS.  33 

Of  the  tribes  which,  single  and  detached,  or  co- 
hering in  loose  confederacies,  dwelt  within  the 
limits  of  Lower  Canada,  Acadia,  and  New  England, 
it  is  needless  to  speak ;  for  they  offered  no  distinc- 
tive traits  demanding  notice.  Passing  the  country 
of  the  Lenape  and  the  Shawanoes,  and  descending 
the  Ohio,  the  traveller  would  have  found  its  valley 
chiefly  occupied  by  two  nations,  the  Miamis  or 
Twightwees,  on  the  AVabash  and  its  branches,  and 
the  Illinois,  who  dwelt  in  the  neighborhood  of  the 
river  to  which  they  have  given  their  name,  while 
portions  of  them  extended  beyond  the  Mississippi. 
Though  never  subjugated,  as  were  the  Lenape,  both 
the  Miamis  and  the  Illinois  were  reduced  to  the  last' 
extremity  by  the  repeated  attacks  of  the  Five  Na- 
tions ;  and  the  Illinois,  in  particular,  suffered  so 
much  by  these  and  other  wars,  that  the  population 
of  ten  or  twelve  thousand,  ascribed  to  them  by  the 
early  French  writers,  had  dwindled,  during  the  first 
quarter  of  the  eighteenth  century,  to  a  few  small 
villages.^  According  to  Marest,  they  were  a  people 
sunk  in  sloth  and  licentiousness  ;  but  that  priestly 
father  had  sujffered  much  at  their  hands,  and  viewed 
them  with  a  jaundiced  eye.  Their  agriculture  was 
not  contemptible  ;  they  had  permanent  dwellings 
as  well  as  portable  lodges  ;  and  though  wandering 
through  many  months  of  the  year  among  their 
broad  prairies  and  forests,  there  were  seasons  when 
their  whole  population  was  gathered,  with  feastings 

1  Father  Rasles,  1723,  says  that  there  were  eleven.     Marest,  in  1712, 
found  only  three. 

3 


34  INDIAN   TRIBES.  [Chap.  I. 

and  merry-making,  within  the  limits  of  their  vil- 
lages. 

Turning  his  course  northward,  traversing  Lakes 
Michigan  and  Superior,  and  skirting  the  western 
margin  of  Lake  Huron,  the  voyager  would  have 
found  the  solitudes  of  the  wild  waste  around  him 
broken  by  scattered  lodges  of  the  Ojibwas,  Potta- 
wattamies,  and  Ottawas.  About  the  bays  and  rivers 
west  of  Lake  Michigan,  he  would  have  seen  the 
Sacs,  the  Foxes,  and  the  Menomonies ;  and  pene- 
trating the  frozen  wilderness  of  the  north,  he  would 
have  been  welcomed  by  the  rude  hospitality  of  the 
wandering  Crees  or  Knisteneaux. 

The  Ojibwas,  with  their  kindred,  the  Pottawatta- 
mies,  and  their  friends  the  Ottawas,  —  the  latter  of 
whom  were  fugitives  from  the  eastward,  whence 
they  had  fled  from  the  wrath  of  the  L'oquois, — 
were  banded  into  a  sort  of  confederacy.^  They 
were  closely  allied  in  blood,  language,  manners  and 
character.  The  Ojibwas,  by  far  the  most  numerous 
of  the  three,  occupied  the  basin  of  Lake  Superior, 
and  extensive  adjacent  regions.  In  their  bounda- 
ries, the  career  of  Iroquois  conquest  found  at  length 
a  check.  The  fugitive  Wyandots  sought  refuge  in 
the  Ojibwa  hunting-grounds ;  and  tradition  relates 
that,  at  the  outlet  of  Lake  Superior,  an  Iroquois 
war-party  once  encountered  a  disastrous  repulse. 

In  their  mode  of  life,  they  were  far  more  rude 
than  the  Iroquois,  or  even  the  southern  Algonquin 
tribes.     The  totemic  system  is  found  among  them 

A  Morse,  Report,  Appendix,  141. 


Chap.  I.]  OJIBWAS.  35 

in  its  most  imperfect  state.  The  original  clans 
have  become  broken  into  fragments,  and  indefi- 
nitely multiplied  ;  and  many  of  the  ancient  customs 
of  the  institution  are  but  loosely  regarded.  Agri- 
culture is  little  known,  and,  through  summer  and 
winter,  they  range  the  wilderness  with  restless  wan- 
dering, now  gorged  to  repletion,  and  now  perishing 
wdth  want.  In  the  calm  days  of  summer,  the 
Ojibwa  fisherman  pushes  out  his  birch  canoe  upon 
the  great  inland  ocean  of  the  north ;  and,  as  he 
gazes  down  into  the  pellucid  depths,  he  seems  like 
one  balanced  between  earth  and  sky.  The  watch- 
ful fish-hawk  circles  above  his  head ;  and  below, 
farther  than  his  line  will  reach,  he  sees  the  trout 
glide  shadowy  and  silent  over  the  glimmering  peb- 
bles. The  little  islands  on  the  verge  of  the  horizon 
seem  now  starting  into  spires,  now  melting  from 
the  sight,  now  shaping  themselves  into  a  thousand 
fantastic  forms,  with  the  strange  mirage  of  the 
waters  ;  and  he  fancies  that  the  evil  spirits  of  the 
lake  lie  basking  their  serpent  forms  on  those  unhal- 
lowed shores.  Again,  he  explores  the  watery  laby- 
rinths where  the  stream  sweeps  among  pine-tufted 
islands,  or  runs,  black  and  deep,  beneath  the  shad- 
ows of  moss-bearded  firs ;  or  he  drags  his  canoe 
upon  the  sandy  beach,  and,  while  his  camp-fire 
crackles  on  the  grass-plat,  reclines  beneath  the 
trees,  and  smokes  and  laughs  away  the  sultry  hours, 
in  a  lazy  luxury  of  enjoyment. 

But  when  winter  descends  upon  the  north,  seal- 
ing up  the  fountains,  fettering  the  streams,  and 
turning  the  green-robed  forests  to  shivering  naked- 


36  INDIAN   TRIBES.  [Chap.  I. 

ness,  then,  bearing  their  frail  dwellings  on  their 
backs,  the  Ojibwa  family  wander  forth  into  the 
wilderness,  cheered  only  on  their  dreary  track  by 
the  whistling  of  the  north  wind,  and  the  hungry 
howl  of  wolves.  By  the  banks  of  some  frozen 
stream,  women  and  children,  men  and  dogs,  lie 
crouched  together  around  the  fire.  They  spread 
their  benumbed  fingers  over  the  embers,  while  the 
wind  shrieks  through  the  fir-trees  like  the  gale 
through  the  rigging  of  a  frigate,  and  the  narrow 
concave  of  the  wigwam  sparkles  with  the  frost- 
work of  their  congealed  breath.  In  vain  they  beat 
the  magic  drum,  and  call  upon  their  guardian  man- 
itoes  ;  —  the  wary  moose  keeps  aloof,  the  bear  lies 
close  in  his  hollow  tree,  and  famine  stares  them  in 
the  face.  And  now  the  hunter  can  fight  no  more 
against  the  nipping  cold  and  blinding  sleet.  Stiff 
and  stark,  with  haggard  cheek  and  shrivelled  lip, 
he  lies  among  the  snow  drifts ;  till,  with  tooth  and 
claw,  the  famished  wildcat  strives  in  vain  to  pierce 
the  frigid  marble  of  his  limbs.  Such  harsh  school- 
ing is  thrown  away  on  the  incorrigible  mind  of  the 
northern  Algonquin.  He  lives  in  misery,  as  his 
fathers  lived  before  him.  Still,  in  the  brief  hour 
of  plenty  he  forgets  the  season  of  want ;  and  still 
the  sleet  and  the  snow  descend  upon  his  houseless 
head.^ 

I  have  thus  passed  in  brief  review  the  more  prom- 


1  See  Tanner,  Long,  and  Henry.  A  comparison  of  Tanner  with  the 
accounts  of  the  Jesuit  Le  Jeune  will  show  that  Algonquin  life  in  Lower 
Canada,  two  hundred  years  ago,  was  essentially  the  same  with  Algonquin 
life  on  the  Upper  Lakes  within  the  last  half  century. 


CiiAP.  I.]  THEIR  LEGENDARY  LORE.  37 

inent  of  the  Algonquin  tribes  ;  those  whose  strug- 
gles and  sufferings  form  the  theme  of  the  ensuing 
History.  In  speaking  of  the  Iroquois,  some  of  the 
distinctive  peculiarities  of  the  Algonquins  have 
already  been  hinted  at.  It  must  be  admitted  that, 
in  moral  stability  and  intellectual  vigor,  they  are 
inferior  to  the  former;  though  some  of  the  most 
conspicuous  offspring  of  the  wilderness,  Metacom, 
Tecumseh,  and  Pontiac  himself,  o^\Tied  their  blood 
and  language. 

The  fireside  stories  of  every  primitive  people  are 
faithful  reflections  of  the  form  and  coloring  of  the 
national  mind ;  and  it  is  no  proof  of  sound  philos- 
ophy to  turn  with  contempt  from  the  study  of  a 
fairy  tale.  The  legendary  lore  of  the  Iroquois, 
black  as  the  midnight  forests,  awful  in  its  gloomy 
strength,  is  but  another  manifestation  of  that  spirit 
of  mastery  which  uprooted  whole  tribes  from  the 
earth,  and  deluged  the  wilderness  with  blood.  The 
traditionary  tales  of  the  Algonquins  wear  a  differ- 
ent aspect.  The  credulous  circle  around  an  Ojibwa 
lodge-fire  listened  to  wild  recitals  of  necromancy 
and  witchcraft  —  men  transformed  to  beasts,  and 
beasts  transformed  to  men,  animated  trees,  and 
birds  who  spoke  with  human  tongue.  They  heard 
of  malignant  sorcerers  dwelling  among  the  lonely 
islands  of  spell-bound  lakes ;  of  grisly  iveendigoes, 
and  bloodless  geebi  ;  of  evil  manitoes  lurking  in  the 
dens  and  fastnesses  of  the  woods ;  of  pygmy  cham- 
pions, diminutive  in  stature  but  mighty  in  soul,  who, 
by  the  potency  of  charm  and  talisman,  subdued  the 
direst  monsters  of  the  waste ;  and  of  heroes,  who, 


38  INDIAN  TRIBES.  [Chap.  L 

not  by  downright  force  and  open  onset,  but  by  sub- 
tle strategy,  tricks,  or  magic  art,  achieved  marvellous 
triumphs  over  the  brute  force  of  their  assailants. 
Sometimes  the  tale  will  breathe  a  different  spirit, 
and  tell  of  orphan  children  abandoned  in  the  heart 
of  a  hideous  wilderness,  beset  with  fiends  and  can- 
nibals. Some  enamored  maiden,  scornful  of  earth- 
ly suitors,  plights  her  troth  to  the  graceful  manito 
of  the  grove ;  or  bright  aerial  beings,  dwellers  of 
the  sky,  descend  to  tantalize  the  gaze  of  mortals 
with  evanescent  forms  of  loveliness. 

The  mighty  giant,  the  God  of  the  Thunder,  who 
made  his  home  among  the  caverns,  beneath  the  cat- 
aract of  Niagara,  was  a  characteristic  conception 
of  Iroquois  imagination.  The  Algonquins  held  a 
simpler  faith,  and  maintained  that  the  thunder  was 
a  bird  who  built  his  nest  on  the  pinnacle  of  tow- 
ering mountains.  Two  daring  boys  once  scaled  the 
height,  and  thrust  sticks  into  the  eyes  of  the  por- 
tentous nestlings  ;  which  hereupon  flashed  forth 
such  wrathful  scintillations,  that  the  sticks  were 
shivered  to  atoms. ^ 


1  For  Algonquin  legends,  see  Schoolcraft,  in  Algic  Researches  and 
Oneota.  Le  Jeiine  early  discovered  these  legends  among  the  tribes  of  his 
mission.  Two  centuries  ago,  among  the  Algonquins  of  Lower  Canada,  a 
tale  was  related  to  him,  which,  in  its  principal  incidents,  is  identical  with 
the  story  of  the  "  Boy  who  set  a  Snare  for  the  Sun,"  recently  found  by 
Mr.  Schoolcraft  among  the  tribes  of  the  Upper  Lakes.  Compare  Relation, 
1637,  p.  172,  and  Oneota,  p.  75.  The  coincidence  affords  a  curious  proof 
of  the  antiquity  and  wide  diffusion  of  some  of  these  tales. 

The  Dacotah,  as  weU  as  the  Algonquins,  believe  that  the  thunder  is 
produced  by  a  bird.  A  beautiful  illustration  of  this  idea  will  be  found  in 
Mrs.  Eastman's  Legends  of  the  Sioux.  An  Indian  propounded  to  Le  Jeune 
a  doctrine  of  his  own.  According  to  his  theory,  the  thunder  is  produced 
by  the  eructations  of  a  monstrous  giant,  who  had  unfortunately  swallowed 


Chap.  I.]  THEIR  RELIGIOUS  BELIEF.  39 

The  religious  belief  of  the  Algonquins  —  and 
the  remark  holds  good,  not  of  the  Algonquins  only, 
but  of  all  the  hunting  tribes  of  America  —  is  a 
cloudy  bewilderment,  where  we  seek  in  vain  for 
system  or  coherency.  Among  a  primitive  and  sav- 
age people,  there  were  no  poets  to  vivify  its  images, 
and  no  priests  to  give  distinctness  and  harmony  to 
its  rites  and  symbols.  To  the  Indian  mind,  all 
nature  was  instinct  with  deity.  A  spirit  was  em- 
bodied in  every  mountain,  lake,  and  cataract ;  every 
bird,  beast,  or  reptile,  every  tree,  shrub,  or  grass- 
blade,  was  endued  with  mystic  influence  ;  yet  this 
untutored  pantheism  did  not  exclude  the  conception 
of  certain  divinities,  of  incongruous  and  ever  shift- 
ing attributes.  The  sun,  too,  was  a  god,  and  the 
moon  was  a  goddess.  Conflicting  powers  of  good 
and  evil  divided  the  universe :  but  if,  before  the 
arrival  of  Europeans,  the  Indian  recognized  the  ex- 
istence of  one,  almighty,  self-existent  Being,  the 
Great  Spirit,  the  Lord  of  Heaven  and  Earth,  the 
belief  was  so  vague  and  dubious  as  scarcely  to  de- 
serve the  name.  His  perceptions  of  moral  good 
and  evil  were  perplexed  and  shadowy ;  and  the  be- 
lief in  a  state  of  future  reward  and  punishment 
was  by  no  means  universal.^ 

Of  the  Indian  character,  much  has  been  written 
foolishly,  and  credulously  beHeved.  By  the  rhap- 
sodies of  poets,  the  cant  of  sentimentalists,  and  the 

a  quantity  of  snakes  ;  and  the  latter  faUing  to  the  earth,  caused  the 
appearance  of  hghtning.  "  Voila  une  philosophie  bien  nouvelle ! " 
exclaims  the  astonished  Jesuit. 

1  Le  Jeune,  Schoolcraft,  James,  Jarvis,  Charlevoix,  Sagard,  Bre'beuf, 
Mercier,  Vimont,  Lallemant,  Lafitau,  De  Smet,  &c. 


40  INDIAN  TRIBES.  [Chap.  I. 

extravagance  of  some  who  should  have  known  bet- 
ter, a  counterfeit  image  has  been  tricked  out,  which 
might  seek  in  vain  for  its  likeness  through  every 
corner  of  the  habitable  earth  ;  an  image  bearing  no 
more  resemblance  to  its  original,  than  the  monarch 
of  the  tragedy  and  the  hero  of  the  epic  poem  bear 
to  their  living  prototypes  in  the  palace  and  the 
camp.  The  shadows  of  his  wilderness  home,  and 
the  darker  mantle  of  his  own  inscrutable  reserve, 
have  made  the  Indian  warrior  a  wonder  and  a  mys- 
tery. Yet  to  the  eye  of  rational  observation  there 
is  nothing  unintelligible  in  him.  He  is  full,  it  is 
true,  of  contradiction.  He  deems  himself  the  cen- 
tre of  greatness  and  renown ;  his  pride  is  proof 
against  the  fiercest  torments  of  fire  and  steel ;  and 
yet  the  same  man  would  beg  for  a  dram  of  whiskey, 
or  pick  up  a  crust  of  bread  thrown  to  him  like  a 
dog,  from  the  tent  door  of  the  traveller.  At  one 
moment,  he  is  wary  and  cautious  to  the  verge  of 
cowardice ;  at  the  next,  he  abandons  himself  to  a 
very  insanity  of  recklessness ;  and  the  habitual 
self-restraint  which  throws  an  impenetrable  veil 
over  emotion  is  joined  to  the  unbridled  passions  of 
a  madman  or  a  beast. 

Such  inconsistencies,  strange  as  they  seem  in  our 
eyes,  when  viewed  under  a  novel  aspect,  are  but  the 
ordinary  incidents  of  humanity.  The  qualities  of 
the  mind  are  not  uniform  in  their  action  through  all 
the  relations  of  life.  With  different  men,  and  dif- 
ferent races  of  men,  pride,  valor,  prudence,  have 
difi'erent  forms  of  manifestation,  and  where  in  one 
instance  they  lie  dormant,  in  another  they  are  keen- 


Chap.  L]  THE  INDIAN   CHARACTER.  41 

ly  awake.  The  conjunction  of  greatness  and  little- 
ness, meanness  and  pride,  is  older  than  the  days  of 
the  patriarchs ;  and  such  antiquated  phenomena, 
displayed  under  a  new  form  in  the  unreflecting,  un- 
disciplined mind  of  a  savage,  call  for  no  special 
Avonder,  but  should  rather  be  classed  with  the  other 
enigmas  of  the  fathomless  human  heart.  The  dis- 
secting knife  of  a  Hochefoucault  might  lay  bare 
matters  of  no  less  curious  observation  in  the  breast 
of  every  man. 

Nature  has  stamped  the  Indian  with  a  hard  and 
stern  physiognomy.  Ambition,  revenge,  envy,  jeal- 
ousy, are  his  ruling  passions  ;  and  his  cold  temper- 
ament is  little  exposed  to  those  effeminate  vices 
which  are  the  bane  of  milder  races.  With  him 
revenge  is  an  overpowering  instinct ;  nay,  more,  it 
is  a  point  of  honor  and  a  duty.  His  pride  sets  all 
language  at  defiance.  He  loathes  the  thought  of 
coercion ;  and  few  of  his  race  have  ever  stooped  to 
discharge  a  menial  office.  A  wild  love  of  liberty, 
an  utter  intolerance  of  control,  lie  at  the  basis  of 
his  character,  and  fire  his  whole  existence.  Yet, 
in  spite  of  this  haughty  independence,  he  is  a  de- 
vout hero-worshipper ;  and  high  achievement  in 
war  or  policy  touches  a  chord  to  which  his  nature 
never  fails  to  respond.  He  looks  up  with  admiring 
reverence  to  the  sages  and  heroes  of  his  tribe ;  and 
it  is  this  principle,  joined  to  the  respect  for  age 
springing  from  the  patriarchal  element  in  his 
social  system,  which,  beyond  all  others,  contributes 
union  and  harmony  to  the  erratic  members  of  an 
Indian  community.     With  him  the  love   of  glory 


42  INDIAN   TRIBES.  [Chap.  I. 

kindles  into  a  burning  passion  ;  and  to  allay  its 
cravings,  he  will  dare  cold  and  famine,  fire,  tempest, 
torture,  and  death  itself. 

These  generous  traits  are  overcast  by  much  that 
is  dark,  cold,  and  sinister,  by  sleepless  distrust,  and 
rankling  jealousy.  Treacherous  himself,  he  is  al- 
ways suspicious  of  treachery  in  others.  Brave  as 
he  is,  —  and  few  of  mankind  are  braver,  —  he  will 
vent  his  passion  by  a  secret  stab  rather  than  an 
open  blow.  His  warfare  is  full  of  ambuscade  and 
stratagem;  and  he  never  rushes  into  battle  with 
that  joyous  self-abandonment,  with  which  the  war- 
riors of  the  Gothic  races  flung  themselves  into  the 
ranks  of  their  enemies.  In  his  feasts  and  his  drink- 
ing bouts  we  find  none  of  that  robust  and  full-toned 
mirth,  which  reigned  at  the  rude  carousals  of  our 
barbaric  ancestry.  He  is  never  jovial  in  his  cups, 
and  maudlin  sorrow  or  maniacal  rage  is  the  sole 
result  of  his  potations. 

Over  all  emotion  he  throws  the  veil  of  an  iron 
self-control,  originating  in  a  peculiar  form  of  pride, 
and  fostered  by  rigorous  discipline  from  childhood 
upward.  He  is  trained  to  conceal  passion,  and  not 
to  subdue  it.  The  inscrutable  warrior  is  aptly  im- 
aged by  the  hackneyed  figure  of  a  volcano  covered 
with  snow  ;  and  no  man  can  say  when  or  where  the 
wild-fire  will  burst  forth.  This  shallow  self-mastery 
serves  to  give  dignity  to  public  deliberation,  and 
harmony  to  social  life.  Wrangling  and  quarrel  are 
strangers  to  an  Indian  dwelling ;  and  while  an  as- 
sembly of  the  ancient  Gauls  was  garrulous  as  a 
convocation  of  magpies,  a  Eoman  senate  might  have 


Chap.  I.]  THE   INDIAN   CHARACTER.  43 

taken  a  lesson  from  the  grave  solemnity  of  an 
Indian  council.  In  the  midst  of  his  family  and 
friends,  he  hides  affections,  by  nature  none  of  the 
most  tender,  under  a  mask  of  icy  coldness ;  and 
in  the  torturing  fires  of  his  enemy,  the  haughty 
sufferer  maintains  to  the  last  his  look  of  grim 
defiance. 

His  intellect  is  as  peculiar  as  his  moral  organiza- 
tion. Among  all  savages,  the  powers  of  perception 
preponderate  over  those  of  reason  and  analysis ; 
but  this  is  more  especially  the  case  with  the  Indian. 
An  acute  judge  of  character,  at  least  of  such  parts 
of  it  as  his  experience  enables  him  to  comprehend  ; 
keen  to  a  proverb  in  all  exercises  of  war  and  the 
chase,  he  seldom  traces  effects  to  their  causes,  or 
follows  out  actions  to  their  remote  results.  Though 
a  close  observer  of  external  nature,  he  no  sooner 
attempts  to  account  for  her  phenomena  than  he  in- 
volves himself  in  the  most  ridiculous  absurdities; 
and  quite  content  with  these  puerilities,  he  has  not 
the  least  desire  to  push  his  inquiries  further.  His 
curiosity,  abundantly  active  within  its  own  narrow 
circle,  is  dead  to  all  things  else ;  and  to  attempt 
rousing  it  from  its  torpor  is  but  a  bootless  task.  He 
seldom  takes  cognizance  of  general  or  abstract 
ideas ;  and  his  language  has  scarcely  the  power  to 
express  them,  except  through  the  medium  of  fig- 
ures drawn  from  the  external  world,  and  often 
highly  picturesque  and  forcible.  The  absence  of 
reflection  makes  him  grossly  improvident,  and  unfits 
him  for  pursuing  any  complicated  scheme  of  war 
or  policy. 


44  INDIAN  TRIBES.  [Chap.  I. 

Some  races  of  men  seem  moulded  in  wax,  soft 
and  melting,  at  once  plastic  and  feeble.  Some 
races,  like  some  metals,  combine  the  greatest  flexi- 
bility with  the  greatest  strength.  But  the  Indian 
is  hewn  out  of  a  rock.  You  can  rarely  change  the 
form  without  destruction  of  the  substance.  Races 
of  inferior  energy  have  possessed  a  power  of  expan- 
sion and  assimilation  to  which  he  is  a  stranger ; 
and  it  is  this  fixed  and  rigid  quality  which  has 
proved  his  ruin.  He  will  not  learn  the  arts  of  civ- 
ihzation,  and  he  and  his  forest  must  perish  together. 
The  stern,  unchanging  features  of  his  mind  excite 
our  admiration  from  their  very  immutabiUty  ;  and 
we  look  with  deep  interest  on  the  fate  of  this  irre^ 
claimable  son  of  the  wilderness,  the  child  who 
will  not  be  weaned  from  the  breast  of  his  rugged 
mother.  And  our  interest  increases  when  we  dis- 
cern in  the  unhappy  wanderer  the  germs  of  heroic 
virtues  mingled  among  his  vices,  —  a  hand  boun- 
tiful to  bestow  as  it  is  rapacious  to  seize,  and 
even  in  extremest  famine,  imparting  its  last  morsel 
to  a  fellow-sufferer ;  a  heart  which,  strong  in 
friendship  as  in  hate,  thinks  it  not  too  much  to  lay 
down  life  for  its  chosen  comi-ade  ;  a  soul  true  to 
its  own  idea  of  honor,  and  burning  wdth  an  un- 
quenchable thirst  for  greatness  and  renown. 

The  imprisoned  lion  in  the  showman's  cage  dif- 
fers not  more  widely  from  the  lord  of  the  desert, 
than  the  beggarly  frequenter  of  frontier  garrisons 
and  dramshops  difl'ers  from  the  proud  denizen  of 
the  woods.  It  is  in  his  native  wilds  alone  that  the 
Indian  must  be  seen  and  studied.     Thus  to  depict 


Chap.  I]  THE   INDIAN   CHARACTER.  45 

him  is  the  aim  of  the  ensuing  History;  and  if, 
from  the  shades  of  rock  and  forest,  the  savage 
features  should  look  too  grimly  forth,  it  is  because 
the  clouds  of  a  tempestuous  war  have  cast  upon  the 
picture  their  murky  shadows  and  lurid  fires. 


CHAPTER    II. 

1608-1763. 
FRANCE  AND  ENGLAND  IN  AMERICA. 

The  American  colonies  of  France  and  England 
grew  up  to  maturity  under  widely  different  auspices. 
Canada,  the  offspring  of  Church  and  State,  nursed 
from  infancy  in  the  lap  of  power,  its  puny  strength 
fed  with  artificial  stimulants,  its  movements  guided 
by  rule  and  discipline,  its  limbs  trained  to  martial 
exercise,  languished,  in  spite  of  all,  from  the  lack 
of  vital  sap  and  energy.  The  colonies  of  England, 
outcast  and  neglected,  but  strong  in  native  vigor 
and  self-confiding  courage,  grew  yet  more  strong 
with  conflict  and  with  striving,  and  developed  the 
rugged  proportions  and  unwieldy  strength  of  a 
youthful  giant. 

In  the  valley  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  and  along  the 
coasts  of  the  Atlantic,  adverse  principles  contended 
for  the  mastery.  Feudalism  stood  arrayed  against 
Democracy ;  Popery  against  Protestantism ;  the 
sword  against  the  plougshare.  The  priest,  the 
soldier,  and  the  noble,  ruled  in  Canada.  The 
ignorant,  light-hearted  Canadian  peasant  knew 
nothing  and  cared  nothing  about   popular  rights 


1663-1763.]  THE   FRENCH   CANADIANS.  47 

and  civil  liberties.  Born  to  obey,  he  lived  in  con- 
tented submission,  without  the  wish  or  the  capacity 
for  self-rule.  Power,  centered  in  the  heart  of  the 
system,  left  the  masses  inert.  The  settlements 
along  the  margin  of  the  St.  Lawrence  were  like  a 
camp,  where  an  army  lay  at  rest,  ready  for  the 
march  or  the  battle,  and  where  war  and  adventure, 
not  trade  and  tillage,  seemed  the  chief  aims  of  life. 
The  lords  of  the  soil  were  petty  nobles,  for  the 
most  part  soldiers,  or  the  sons  of  soldiers,  proud 
and  ostentatious,  thriftless  and  poor ;  and  the  peo- 
ple were  their  vassals.  Over  every  cluster  of  small 
white  houses  glittered  the  sacred  emblem  of  the 
cross.  The  church,  the  convent,  and  the  roadside 
shrine  were  seen  at  every  turn ;  and  in  the  towns 
and  villages,  one  met  each  moment  the  black  robe 
of  the  Jesuit,  the  gray  garb  of  the  Recollet,  and 
the  formal  habit  of  the  Ursuline  nun.  The  names 
of  saints,  St.  Joseph,  St.  Ignatius,  St.  Francis,  were 
perpetuated  in  the  capes,  rivers,  and  islands,  the 
forts  and  villages  of  the  land  ;  and  with  every  day, 
crowds  of  simple  worshippers  knelt  in  adoration 
before  the  countless  altars  of  the  Roman  faith. 

If  we  search  the  world  for  the  sharpest  contrast 
to  the  spiritual  and  temporal  vassalage  of  Canada, 
we  shall  find  it  among  her  immediate  neighbors, 
the  Puritans  of  New  England,  where  the  spirit  of 
non-conformity  was  sublimed  to  a  fiery  essence, 
and  where  the  love  of  liberty  and  the  hatred  of 
power  burned  with  sevenfold  heat.  The  English 
colonist,  with  thoughtful  brow  and  limbs  hardened 
with  toil ;  calling  no  man  master,  yet  bowing  rev- 


48  FRANCE  AND  ENGLAND  IN  AMERICA.      [1663-1763. 

erently  to  the  law  which  he  himself  had  made  ; 
patient  and  laborious,  and  seeking  for  the  solid 
comforts  rather  than  the  ornaments  of  life  ;  no 
lover  of  war,  yet,  if  need  were,  fighting  with  a 
stubborn,  indomitable  courage,  and  then  bending 
once  more  with  steadfast  energy  to  his  farm,  or  his 
merchandise,  —  such  a  man  might  well  be  deemed 
the  very  pith  and  marrow  of  a  commonwealth. 

In  every  quality  of  efficiency  and  strength,  the 
Canadian  fell  miserably  below  his  rival ;  but  in  all 
that  pleases  the  eye  and  interests  the  imagination, 
he  far  surpassed  him.  Buoyant  and  gay,  like  his 
ancestry  of  France,  he  made  the  frozen  wilderness 
ring  with  merriment,  answered  the  surly  howling 
of  the  pine  forest  with  peals  of  laughter,  and 
warmed  with  revelry  the  groaning  ice  of  the  St. 
Lawrence.  Careless  and  thoughtless,  he  lived 
happy  in  the  midst  of  poverty,  content  if  he  could 
but  gain  the  means  to  fill  his  tobacco-pouch,  and 
decorate  the  cap  of  his  mistress  with  a  ribbon. 
The  example  of  a  beggared  nobility,  who,  proud 
and  penniless,  could  only  assert  their  rank  by 
idleness  and  ostentation,  was  not  lost  upon  him. 
A  rightful  heir  to  French  bravery  and  French  rest- 
lessness, he  had  an  eager  love  of  wandering  and 
adventure  ;  and  this  propensity  found  ample  scope 
in  the  service  of  the  fur-trade,  the  engrossing  occu- 
pation and  chief  source  of  income  to  the  colony. 
When  the  priest  of  St.  Ann's  had  shrived  him  of 
his  sins  ;  when,  after  the  parting  carousal,  he  em- 
barked with  his  comrades  in  the  deep-laden  canoe  ; 
when  their  oars  kept  time  to  the  measured  cadence 


1663-1763.]  THE   FRENCH   CANADIANS.  49 

of  their  song,  and  the  blue,  sunny  bosom  of  the 
Ottawa  opened  before  them  ;  when  their  frail  bark 
quivered  among  the  milky  foam  and  black  rocks 
of  the  rapid  ;  and  when,  around  their  camp-fii'e, 
they  wasted  half  the  night  with  jests  and  laughter,  — 
then  the  Canadian  was  in  his  element.  His  foot- 
steps explored  .the  farthest  hiding-places  of  the 
wilderness.  In  the  evening  dance,  his  red  cap 
mingled  wdth  the  scalp-locks  and  feathers  of  the 
Indian  braves  ;  or,  stretched  on  a  bear-skin  by  the 
side  of  his  dusky  mistress,  he  watched  the  gambols 
of  his  hybrid  offspring,  in  happy  oblivion  of  the 
partner  whom  he  left  unnumbered  leagues  behind. 
The  fur-trade  engendered  a  pecuHar  class  of  rest- 
less bush-rangers,  more  akin  to  Indians  than  to 
white  men.  Those  who  had  once  felt  the  fascina- 
tions of  the  forest  were  unfitted  ever  after  for  a  life 
of  quiet  labor ;  and  with  this  spirit  the  whole 
colony  was  infected.  From  this  cause,  no  less  than 
from  occasional  wars  with  the  English,  and  re- 
peated attacks  of  the  Iroquois,  the  agriculture  of 
the  country  was  sunk  to  a  low  ebb  ;  while  feudal 
exactions,  a  ruinous  system  of  monopoly,  and  the 
intermeddlings  of  arbitrary  power,  cramped  every 
branch  of  industry.^  Yet,  by  the  zeal  of  priests 
and  the  daring  enterprise  of  soldiers  and  explorers, 
Canada,  though  sapless  and  infii'm,  spread  forts 

1  Eaynal.  Hist.  Indies,  VII.  87  (Lond.  1783). 

Charlevoix,  Voyages,  Letter  X. 

The  Swedish  traveller  Kalm  gives  an  interesting  account  of  manners 
in  Canada,  about  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century.  For  the  feudal 
tenure  as  existing  in  Canada,  see  Bouchette,  I.  Cliap.  XIV.  (Lond.  1831), 
and  Garneau,  Hist.  Canada,  Book  III.  Chap.  HI. 

4 


50  FRANCE  AND  ENGLAND  IN  AMERICA.     [1608-1663. 

and  missions  through  all  the  western  wilderness. 
Feebly  rooted  in  the  soil,  she  thrust  out  branches 
which  overshadowed  half  America  ;  a  magnificent 
object  to  the  eye,  but  one  which  the  first  whirl- 
wind would  prostrate  in  the  dust. 

Such  excursive  enterprise  was  alien  to  the  genius 
of  the  British  colonies.  Daring  activity  was  rife 
among  them,  but  it  did  not  aim  at  the  founding  of 
military  outposts  and  forest  missions.  By  the  force 
of  energetic  industry,  their  population  swelled  with 
an  unheard-of  rapidity,  their  wealth  increased  in  a 
yet  greater  ratio,  and  their  promise  of  future  great- 
ness opened  with  every  advancing  year.  But  it 
was  a  greatness  rather  of  peace  than  of  war.  The 
free  institutions,  the  independence  of  authority, 
which  were  the  source  of  their  increase,  were  ad- 
verse to  that  unity  of  counsel  and  promptitude  of 
action  which  are  the  soul  of  war.  It  was  far  other- 
wise with  their  military  rival.  France  had  her 
Canadian  forces  well  in  hand.  They  had  but  one 
will,  and  that  was  the  will  of  a  misti-ess.  Now 
here,  now  there,  in  sharp  and  rapid  onset,  they 
could  assail  the  cumbrous  >  masses  and  unwieldy 
strength  of  their  antagonists,  as  the  king-bird 
attacks  the  eagle,  or  the  sword-fish  the  whale. 
Between  two  such  combatants  the  strife  must 
needs  be  a  long  one. 

Canada  was  a  true  child  of  the  Church,  baptized 
in  infancy  and  faithful  to  the  last.  Cliamplain,  the 
founder  of  Quebec,  a  man  of  noble  spirit,  a  states- 
man and  a  soldier,  was  deeply  imbued  with  fervid 
piety.     "  The   saving  of  a  soul,"  he  would  often 


1608-1663.]  RELIGIOUS   ZEAL   OF   CANADA.  51 

say,  "  is  worth  more  than  the  conquest  of  an  em- 
pire ; "  ^  and  to  forward  the  work  of  conversion, 
he  brought  with  him  four  Franciscan  monks  from 
France.  At  a  later  period,  the  task  of  coloniza- 
tion would  have  been  abandoned,  but  for  the  hope 
of  casting  the  pure  light  of  the  faith  over  the 
gloomy  wastes  of  heathendom.^  All  France  was 
filled  with  the  zeal  of  proselytism.  Men  and  wo- 
men of  exalted  rank  lent  their  countenance  to  the 
holy  work.  From  many  an  altar  daily  petitions 
were  offered  for  the  well-being  of  the  mission ; 
and  in  the  Holy  House  of  Mont-Martre,  a  nun  lay 
prostrate  day  and  night  before  the  shrine,  praying 
for  the  conversion  of  Canada.^  In  one  convent, 
thirty  nuns  offered  themselves  for  the  labors  of  the 
wdlderness  ;  and  priests  flocked  in  crowds  to  the 
colony.^  The  powers  of  darkness  took  alarm  ;  and 
when  a  ship,  freighted  with  the  apostles  of  the 
faith,  was  tempest-tost  upon  her  voyage,  the  storm 
was  ascribed  to  the  malice  of  demons,  trembling 
for  the  safety  of  their  ancient  empire. 

The  general  enthusiasm  was  not  without  its 
fruits.  The  Church  could  pay  back  with  usury  all 
that  she  received  of  aid  and  encouragement  from 
the  temporal  power  ;  and  the  ambition  of  Riche- 
lieu could  not  have  devised  a  more  efficient 
enginery  for  the  accomplishment  of  its  schemes, 

1  Charlevoix,  Nouv.  France,  I.  197. 

2  Charlevoix,  I.  198. 

3  A.  D.  1635.     Rchtion  cles  Hurons,  1636,  p.  2. 

*  "  Vivre  en  la  Nouvelle  France  c'est  a  vray  dire  vivre  dans  le  sein 
de  Dieu."  Such  are  the  extravagant  words  of  Le  Jeune,  in  his  report  of 
the  year  1636. 


52  EKA^CE  AND  ENGLAND  IN  AMERICA.     [1608-1673. 

than  that  supplied  by  the  zeal  of  the  devoted  prop- 
agandists. The  priest  and  the  soldier  went  hand 
in  hand ;  and  the  cross  and  the  jleur  cle  lis  were 
planted  side  by  side. 

Foremost  among  the  envoys  of  the  faith  were 
the  members  of  that  mighty  order,  who,  in  another 
hemisphere,  had  already  done  so  much  to  turn 
back  the  advancing  tide  of  religious  freedom,  and 
strengthen  the  arm  of  Rome.  To  the  Jesuits  was 
assigned,  for  many  years,  the  entire  charge  of  the 
Canadian  missions,  to  the  exclusion  of  the  Francis- 
cans, early  laborers  in  the  same  barren  field.  In- 
spired with  a  self-devoting  zeal  to  snatch  souls  from 
perdition,  and  win  new  empires  to  the  cross ;  cast- 
ing from  them  every  hope  of  earthly  pleasure  or 
earthly  aggrandizement,  the  Jesuit  fathers  buried 
themselves  in  deserts,  facing  death  with  the  courage 
of  heroes,  and  enduring  torments  with  the  constancy 
of  martyrs.  Their  story  is  replete  with  marvels  — 
miracles  of  patient  suffering  and  daring  enterprise. 
They  were  the  pioneers  of  Northern  iVmerica.^ 
We  see  them  among  the  frozen  forests  of  Acadia, 
struggling  on  snow-shoes,  with  some  wandering 
Algonquin  horde,  or  crouching  in  the  crowded 
hunting-lodge,  half  stifled  in  the  smoky  den,  and 
battling  with  troops  of  famished  dogs  for  the  last 
morsel  of  sustenance.  Again  we  see  the  black- 
robed  priest  wading  among  the  white  rapids  of 
the  Ottawa,  toiling  with  his  savage   comrades  to 

1  See  Jesuit  Relations  and  Lettres  Edijiantes :  also,  Charlevoix,  passim  ; 
Garneau,  Hist.  Canada,  Book  IV.  Chap.  11. ;  and  Bancroft,  Hist.  U.  S, 
Chap.  XX. 


1640-1649.]  JESUIT  MISSIONARIES.  53 

drag  the  canoe  against  the  headlong  water.  Again, 
radiant  in  the  vestments  of  his  priestly  office,  he 
administers  the  sacramental  bread  to  kneelinfir 
crowds  of  plumed  and  painted  proselytes  in  the 
forests  of  the  Hurons ;  or,  bearing  his  life  in  his 
hand,  carries  his  sacred  mission  into  the  stronsr- 
holds  of  the  Iroquois,  like  one  who  invades  un- 
armed a  den  of  angry  tigers.  Jesuit  explorers 
traced  the  St.  Lawrence  to  its  source,  and  said 
masses  among  the  solitudes  of  Lake  Superior, 
where  the  boldest  fur-trader  scarcely  dared  to  fol- 
low. They  planted  missions  at  St.  Mary's  and 
at  Michillimackinac  ;  and  one  of  their  fraternity, 
the  illustrious  Marquette,  discovered  the  Missis- 
sippi, and  opened  a  new  theatre  to  the  boundless 
ambition  of  France. 

The  path  of  the  missionary  was  a  thorny  and  a 
bloody  one ;  and  a  life  of  weary  apostleship  was 
often  crowned  with  a  frightful  martyrdom.  Jean 
de  Brebeuf  and  Gabriel  Lallemant  preached  the 
faith  among  the  villages  of  the  Hurons,  when  their 
terror-stricken  Hock  were  overwhelmed  by  an  irrup- 
tion of  the  Iroquois.  The  missionaries  might  have 
fled  ;  but,  true  to  their  sacred  function,  they  re- 
mained behind  to  aid  the  wounded  and  baptize  the 
dying.  Both  were  made  captive,  and  both  were 
doomed  to  the  fiery  torture.  Brebeuf,  a  veteran 
soldier  of  the  cross,  met  his  fate  with  an  undaunted 
composure,  which  amazed  his  murderers.  With 
unflinching  constancy  he-  endured  torments  too 
horrible    to    be    recorded,    and   died    calmly   as    a 


54  FRANCE  AND  ENGLAND  IN  AMERICA.     [1640-1649. 

martyr  of  the  early  church,  or  a  war-chief  of  the 
Mohawks. 

The  slender  frame  of  Lallemant,  a  man  younger 
in  years  and  gentle  m  spirit,  was  enveloped  in  blaz- 
ing savin-bark.  Again  and  again  the  fire  was  extin- 
guished ;  again  and  again  it  was  kindled  afresh ; 
and  with  such  fiendish  ingenuity  were  his  torments 
protracted,  that  he  lingered  for  seventeen  hours 
before  death  came  to  his  relief.^ 

Isaac  Jogues,  taken  captive  by  the  Iroquois,  was 
led  from  canton  to  canton,  and  village  to  village, 
enduring  fresh  torments  and  indignities  at  every 
stage  of  his  progress.^  Men,  women,  and  children 
vied  with  each  other  in  ingenious  malignity^  Re- 
deemed, at  length,  by  the  humane  exertions  of  a 
Dutch  ofiicer,  he  repaired  to  France,  where  his 
disfigured  person  and  mutilated  hands  told  the 
story  of  his  suff*erings.  But  the  promptings  of  a 
sleepless  conscience  urged  him  to  return  and  com- 
plete the  work  he  had  begun  ;  to  illumine  the 
moral  darkness  upon  which,  during  the  months  of 
his  disastrous  captivity,  he  fondly  hoped  that  he 
had  thrown  some  rays  of  light.  Once  more  he 
bent  his  footsteps  towards  the  scene  of  his  living 
martyrdom,  saddened  with  a  deep  presentiment 
that  he  was  advancing  to  his  death.  Nor  were  his 
forebodings  untrue.  In  a  village  of  the  Mohawks, 
the  blow  of  a  tomahawk  closed  his  mission  and 
his  life. 

Such  intrepid  self-devotion  may  well  call  forth 

1  Charlevoix,  I.  292.  2  Charlevoix,  I.  238-276. 


1632-1700.]  JESUIT  MISSIONARIES.  55 

our  highest  admiration ;  but  when  we  seek  for  the 
results  of  these  toils  and  sacrifices,  we  shall  seek 
in  vain.  Patience  and  zeal  were  thrown  away  upon 
lethargic  minds  and  stubborn  hearts.  The  repoits 
of  the  Jesuits,  it  is  true,  display  a  copious  list  of 
conversions ;  but  the  zealous  fathers  reckoned  the 
number  of  conversions  by  the  number  of  baptisms ; 
and,  as  Le  Clercq  observes,  with  no  less  truth  than 
candor,  an  Indian  would  be  baptized  ten  times  a 
day  for  a  pint  of  brandy  or  a  pound  of  tobacco. 
Neither  can  more  flattering  conclusions  be  drawn 
from  the  alacrity  which  they  showed  to  adorn  their 
persons  with  crucifixes  and  medals.  The  glitter 
of  the  trinkets  pleased  the  fancy  of  the  warrior  ; 
and,  with  the  emblem  of  man's  salvation  pendent 
from  his  neck,  he  was  often  at  heart  as  thorough  a 
heathen  as  when  he  wore  in  its  place  a  necklace 
made  of  the  dried  forefingers  of  his  enemies.  At 
the  present  day,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  insig- 
nificant bands  of  converted  Indians  in  Lower  Can- 
ada, not  a  vestige  of  early  Jesuit  influence  can  be 
found  among  the  tribes.  The  seed  was  sown  upon 
a  rock.^ 

While  the  church  was  reaping  but  a  scanty  har- 
vest, the  labors  of  the  missionaries  were  fruitful 
of  profit  to  the  monarch  of  France.  The  Jesuit 
led  the  van  of  French  colonization  ;  and  at  Detroit, 
Michillimackinac,  St.  Mary's,  Green  Bay,  and  other 
outposts  of  the  west,  the  establishment  of  a  mission 
was  the  precursor  of  military  occupancy.     In  other 

1  For  remarks  on  the  futility  of  Jesuit  missionary  efforts,  see  Halkett, 
Historical  Notes,  Chap.  IV. 


56  FRANCE  AND  ENGLAND  IN  AMERICA.     [1663-1673. 

respects  no  less,  the  labors  of  the  wandering  mis- 
sionaries advanced  the  welfare  of  the  colony. 
Sagacious  and  keen  of  sight,  with  faculties  stimu- 
lated by  zeal  and  sharpened  by  peril,  they  made 
faithful  report  of  the  temper  and  movements  of 
the  distant  tribes  among  whom  they  were  distribu- 
ted. The  influence  which  they  often  gained  was 
exerted  in  behalf  of  the  government  under  whose 
auspices  their  missions  were  carried  on ;  and  they 
strenuously  labored  to  win  over  the  tribes  to  the 
French  alliance,  and  alienate  them  from  the  heretic 
English.  In  all  things  they  approved  themselves 
the  stanch  and  steadfast  auxiliaries  of  the  imperial 
power ;  and  the  Marquis  du  Quesne  observed  of 
the  missionary  Picquet,  that  in  his  single  person 
he  Wias  worth  ten  regiments.^ 

Among  the  English  colonies,  the  pioneers  of  civ- 
ilization were  for  the  most  part  rude,  yet  vigorous 
men,  impelled  to  enterprise  by  native  restlessness, 
or  lured  by  the  hope  of  gain.  Their  range  was 
limited,  and  seldom  extended  far  beyond  the  out- 
skirts of  the  settlements.  With  Canada  it  was  far 
otherwise.  There  was  no  energy  in  the  bulk  of 
her  people.  The  court  and  the  army  supplied  the 
mainsprings  of  her  vital  action,  and  the  hands 
which  planted  the  lilies  of  France  in  the  heart  of 
the  wilderness  had  never  guided  the  ploughshare 
or  wielded  the  spade.  The  love  of  adventure,  the 
ambition  of  new  discovery,  the  hope  of  military  ad- 
vancement, urged  men  of  place  and  culture  to  em- 

1  Picquet  was  a  priest  of  St.  Sulpice.  For  a  sketch  of  liis  life,  see 
Let.L  Edif.  XIV. 


1666-1678.]  LA   SALLE.  57 

bark  on  bold  and  comprehensive  enterprise.  Many 
a  gallant  gentleman,  many  a  nobleman  of  France, 
trod  the  black  mould  and  oozy  mosses  of  the  forest 
with  feet  that  had  pressed  the  carpets  of  Versailles. 
They  whose  youth  had  passed  in  camps  and  courts 
grew  gray  among  the  wigwams  of  savages  ;  and  the 
lives  of  Castine,  Joncaire,  and  Priber^  are  invested 
with  all  the  interest  of  romance. 

Conspicuous  in  the  annals  of  Canada  stands  the 
memorable  name  of  E-obert  Cavelier  de  La  Salle, 
the  man  who,  beyond  all  his  compeers,  contributed 
to  expand  the  boundary  of  French  empire  in  the 
west.  La  Salle  commanded  at  Fort  Frontenac, 
erected  near  the  outlet  of  Lake  Ontario,  on  its 
northern  shore,  and  then  forming  the  most  ad- 
vanced military  outpost  of  the  colony.  Here  he 
dwelt  among  Indians,  and  half-breeds,  traders, 
voyageurs,  bush-rangers,  and  Franciscan  monks, 
ruling  his  little  empire  with  absolute  sway,  en- 
forcing respect  by  his  energy,  but  offending  many 
by  his  rigor.  Here  he  brooded  upon  the  grand  de- 
sign which  had  long  engaged  his  thoughts.  He 
had  resolved  to  complete  the  achievement  of  Father 
Marquette,  to  trace  the  unknown  Mississippi  to  its 
mouth,  to  plant  the  standard  of  his  king  in  the 
newly-discovered  regions,  and  found  colonies  which 
should  make  good  the  sovereignty  of  France  from 
the  Frozen  Ocean  to  Mexico.     Ten  years  of  his 

1  For  an  account  of  Priber,  see  Adair,  240.  I  have  seen  mention  of 
this  man  in  contemporary  provincial  newspapers,  where  he  is  sometimes 
spoken  of  as  a  disguised  Jesuit.  He  took  up  his  residence  among  tlie 
Cherokees  about  the  year  1736,  and  labored  to  gain  them  over  to  tlie 
French  interest. 


58  FRANCE  A^D  ENGLAJs^D  IN  A3IERICA.     [1679-1680. 

early  life  had  passed,  it  is  said,  in  connection  with 
the  Jesnits,  and  his  strong  mind  had  hardened  to 
iron  under  the  discipline  of  that  relentless  school. 
To  a  sound  judgment,  and  a  penetrating  sagacity, 
he  joined  a  boundless  enterprise  and  an  adamantine 
constancy  of  purpose.  But  his  nature  was  stern 
and  austere ;  he  was  prone  to  rule  by  fear  rather 
than  by  love  ;  he  took  counsel  of  no  man,  and 
chilled  all  who  approached  him  by  his  cold 
reserve. 

At  the  close  of  the  year  1678,  his  preparations 
were  complete,  and  he  despatched  his  attendants  to 
the  banks  of  the  river  Niagara,  whither  he  soon 
followed  in  person.  Here  he  began  a  little  fort  of 
palisades,  and  was  the  first  military  tenant  of  a  spot 
destined  to  momentous  consequence  in  future  wars. 
Two  leagues  above  the  cataract,  on  the  eastern 
bank  of  the  river,  he  built  the  first  vessel  which 
ever  explored  the  waters  of  the  upper  lakes. ^  Her 
name  was  the  Griffin,  and  her  burden  was  forty- 
five  tons.  On  the  seventh  of  August,  1679,  she 
began  her  adventurous  voyage  amid  the  speechless 
wonder  of  the  Indians,  who  stood  amazed,  alike  at 
the  unwonted  size  of  the  wooden  canoe,  at  the  flash 
and  roar  of  the  cannon  from  her  decks,  and  at  the 
carved  figure  of  a  griffin,  which  sat  crouched 
upon  her  prow.  She  bore  on  her  course  along  the 
virgin  waters  of  Lake  Erie,  through  the  beautiful 
windings  of  the  Detroit,  and  among  the  restless 
billows  of  Lake  Huron,  where  a  furious  tempest 
had  well  nigh  ingulphed  her.     La  Salle  pursued 

1  Sparks,  Life  of  La  Salle,  21. 


1680-1682.]  LA    SALLE.  59 

his  voyage  along  Lake  Michigan  in  birch  canoes, 
and  after  protracted  suffering  from  famine  and 
exposure  reached  its  southern  extremity  on  the 
eighteenth  of  October.^ 

He  led  his  followers  to  the  banks  of  the  river 
now  called  the  St.  Joseph.  Here,  again,  he  built 
a  fort ;  and  here,  in  after  years,  the  Jesuits  placed 
a  mission  and  the  government  a  garrison.  Thence 
he  pushed  on  into  the  unknown  region  of  the  Illi- 
nois ;  and  now  dangers  and  difficulties  began  to 
thicken  about  him.  Indians  threatened  hostility ; 
his  men  lost  heart,  clamored,  grew  mutinous,  and 
repeatedly  deserted ;  and  worse  than  all,  nothing 
was  heard  of  the  vessel  which  had  been  sent  back 
to  Canada  for  necessary  supplies.  Weeks  wore  on, 
and  doubt  ripened  into  certainty.  She  had  foun- 
dered among  the  storms  of  these  wilderness  oceans  ; 
and  her  loss  seemed  to  involve  the  ruin  of  the 
enterprise,  since  it  was  vain  to  proceed  farther 
without  the  expected  supplies.  In  this  disastrous 
crisis,  La  Salle  embraced  a  resolution  character- 
istic of  his  intrepid  temper.  Leaving  his  men  in 
charge  of  a  subordinate  at  a  fort  w^hich  he  had 
built  on  the  river  Illinois,  he  turned  his  face 
again  towards  Canada.  He  traversed  on  foot  more 
than  a  thousand  miles  of  frozen  forest,  crossing 
rivers,  toiling  through  snow-diifts,  wading  ice- 
encumbered  swamps,  sustaining  life  by  the  fruits  of 
the  chase,  and  threatened  day  and  night  by  lurking 
enemies.  He  gained  his  destination,  but  it  was 
only  to  encounter  a  fresh  storm  of  calamities.  His 
enemies  had  been  busy  in  his  absence  ;  a  malicious 

1  Hennepin,  New  Discovery,  98  (Lond.  1698.) 


60  FRANCE  A^D  ENGLAND  IN  AMERICA.     [1682-1684. 

report  had  gone  abroad  that  he  was  dead  ;  his 
creditors  had  seized  his  property  ;  and  the  stores  on 
which  he  most  relied  had  been  wrecked  at  sea,  or 
lost  among  the  rapids  of  the  St.  Lawrence.  Still 
he  battled  against  adversity  with  his  wonted  vigor, 
and  in  Count  Frontenac,  the  governor  of  the  prov- 
ince, —  a  spirit  kindred  to  his  o^vn,  —  he  found  a 
firm  friend.  Every  difficulty  gave  way  before  him  ; 
and  with  fresh  supplies  of  men,  stores,  and  ammu- 
nition, he  again  embarked  for  the  Illinois.  Eound- 
ing  the  vast  circuit  of  the  lakes,  he  reached  the 
mouth  of  the  St.  Joseph,  and  hastened  with  anxious 
speed  to  the  fort  where  he  had  left  his  followers. 
The  place  was  empty.  Not  a  man  remained. 
Terrified,  despondent,  mutinous,  and  embroiled  in 
Indian  wars,  they  had  fled  to  seek  peace  and 
safety,  he  knew  not  whither. 

Once  more  the  dauntless  discoverer  turned  back 
towards  Canada.  Once  more  he  stood  before  Count 
Frontenac,  and  once  more  bent  all  his  resources 
and  all  his  credit  to  gain  means  for  the  prosecution 
of  his  enterprise.  He  succeeded.  With  his  little 
flotilla  of  canoes,  he  left  his  fort,  at  the  outlet  of 
Lake  Ontario,  and  slowly  retraced  those  intermi- 
nable waters,  and  lines  of  forest-bounded  shore, 
which  had  grown  drearily  familiar  to  his  eyes.  Fate 
at  length  seemed  tired  of  the  conflict  with  so  stub- 
born an  adversaiy.  All  went  prosperously  with  the 
voyagers.  They  passed  the  lakes  in  safety,  crossed 
the  rough  portage  to  the  waters  of  the  Illinois,  fol- 
lowed its  winding  channel,  and  descended  the  turbid 
eddies  of  the  Mississippi,  received  with  various  wel- 
come by  the  scattered  tribes  who  dwelt  along  its 


1684-1754.]  LOUISUI^A.  61 

banks.  Now  the  waters  grew  bitter  to  the  taste  ; 
now  the  trampling  of  the  surf  was  heard  ;  and  now 
the  broad  ocean  opened  upon  their  sight,  and  their 
goal  was  won.  On  the  ninth  of  April,  1682,  with 
his  followers  under  arms,  amid  the  tiring  of  mus- 
ketry, the  chanting  of  the  Te  Deiim,  and  shouts 
of  "  Vive  le  roi,"  La  Salle  took  formal  possession 
of  the  vast  valley  of  the  Mississippi,  in  the  name  of 
Louis  the  Great,  King  of  France  and  Navarre.^ 

The  first  stage  of  his  enterprise  was  accom- 
plished, but  labors  no  less  arduous  remained  behind. 
Repairing  to  the  court  of  France,  he  was  welcomed 
with  richly  merited  favor,  and  soon  set  sail  for 
the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi,  with  a  squadron 
of  vessels  freighted  with  men  and  material  for 
the  projected  colony.  But  the  folly  and  obstinacy 
of  a  jealous  naval  commander  blighted  his  fairest 
hopes.  The  squadron  missed  the  mouth  of  the 
river ;  and  the  wreck  of  one  of  the  vessels,  and  the 
desertion  of  the  commander,  completed  the  ruin  of 
the  expedition.  La  Salle  landed  with  a  band  of  half- 
famished  followers  on  the  coast  of  Texas  ;  and, 
while  he  was  toiling  with  untired  energy  for  their 
relief,  a  few  vindictive  miscreants  conspired  against 
him,  and  a  shot  from  a  traitor's  musket  closed  the 
career  of  the  iron-hearted  discoverer. 

It  was  left  with  another  to  complete  the  enter- 
prise on  which  he  had  staked  his  life  ;  and,  in  the 
year  1699,  Lemoine  d'lberville  planted  the  germ 
whence  sprang  the  colony  of  Louisiana.^ 

1  Proces  Verbal,  in  appendix  to  Sparks's  La  Salle. 

2  Du  Pratz,  Hist.  Louisiana,  5.     Charlevoix,  II.  259. 


62  FRANCE  AND  ENGLAND  IN  AMERICA.     [1730-1754. 

Years  passed  on.  In  spite  of  a  vicious  plan  of 
government,  in  spite  of  the  bursting  of  the  memora- 
ble Mississippi  bubble,  the  new  colony  grew  in  wealth 
and  strength.  And  now  it  remained  for  France  to 
unite  the  two  extremities  of  her  broad  American  do- 
main, to  extend  forts  and  settlements  across  the  fertile 
solitudes  between  the  valley  of  the  St.  Lawrence  and 
the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi,  and  intrench  herself 
among  the  forests  which  lie  west  of  the  Allegha- 
nies,  before  the  swelling  tide  of  British  colonization 
could  overflow  those  mountain  barriers.  At  the 
middle  of  the  eighteenth  century,  her  great  project 
was  ftist  advancing  towards  completion.  The  lakes 
and  streams,  the  thoroughfares  of  the  wilderness, 
were  seized  and  guarded  by  a  series  of  posts  dis- 
tributed with  admirable  skill.  A  fort  on  the  strait 
of  Niagara  commanded  the  great  enti'ance  to  the 
whole  interior  country.  Another  at  Detroit  con- 
trolled the  passage  from  Lake  Erie  to  the  north. 
Another  at  St.  Mary's  debarred  all  hostile  access  to 
Lake  Superior.  Another  at  Michillimackinac 
secured  the  mouth  of  Lake  Michigan.  A  post  at 
Green  Bay,  and  one  at  St.  Joseph,  guarded  the 
two  routes  to  the  Mississippi,  by  way  of  the  rivers 
Wisconsin  and  Illinois ;  while  two  posts  on  the 
Wabash,  and  one  on  the  Maumee,  made  France 
the  mistress  of  the  great  trading  highway  from 
Lake  Erie  to  the  Ohio.  At  Kaskaskia,  Cahokia, 
and  elsewhere  in  the  Illinois,  little  French  settle- 
ments had  sprung  up ;  and  as  the  canoe  of  the 
voyager  descended  the  Mississippi,  he  saw%  at  rare 
intervals,  along  its  swampy  margin,  a  few  small 


1730-1754.]       THEIK   APPROACHING   COLLISION.  63 

stockade  forts,  half  buried  amid  the  redundancy  of 
forest  vegetation,  until,  as  he  approached  Natchez, 
the  dwellings  of  the  hahitans  of  Louisiana  began 
to  ap])ear. 

The  forest  posts  of  France  were  not  exclusively 
of  a  military  character.  Adjacent  to  most  of  them, 
one  would  have  found  a  little  cluster  of  Canadian 
dwellings,  w^hose  tenants  hved  under  the  protection 
of  the  garrison,  and  obeyed  the  arbitrary  will  of 
the  commandant;  an  authority  which,  however, 
was  seldom  exerted  in  a  despotic  spirit.  In  these 
detached  settlements,  there  was  no  principle  of 
increase.  The  character  of  the  people,  and  of 
the  government  which  ruled  them,  were  alike 
unfavorable  to  it.  Agriculture  w^as  neglected  for 
the  more  congenial  pursuits  of  the  fur-trade,  and 
the  restless,  roving  Canadians,  scattered  abroad  on 
their  wdld  vocation,  allied  themselves  to  Indian 
Avomen,  and  filled  the  woods  with  a  mongrel  race 
of  bush-rangers. 

Thus  far  secure  in  the  west,  France  next  essayed 
to  gain  foothold  upon  the  sources  of  the  Ohio ;  and 
about  the  year  1748,  the  sagacious  Count  Galiss- 
onniere  proposed  to  bring  over  ten  thousand  peas- 
ants from  France,  and  plant  them  in  the  valley  of 
that  beautiful  river,  and  on  the  borders  of  the  lakes.^ 
But  while  at  Quebec,  in  the  Castle  of  St.  Louis, 
soldiers  and  statesmen  were  revolving  schemes  like 
this,  the  slowly-moving  power  of  England  bore  on 
with  silent  progress  from  the   east.     Already  the 

J  Smith,  Hist.  Canada,  I.  208. 


64  FRANCE  AND  ENGLAND  IN  AMERICA.  [1754. 

British  settlements  were  creeping  along  the  valley 
of  the  Mohawk,  and  ascending  the  eastern  slopes 
of  the  Alleghanies.  Forests  crashing  to  the  axe, 
dark  spires  of  smoke  ascending  from  autumnal  fires, 
were  heralds  of  the  advancing  host ;  and  while,  on 
one  side  of  the  mountains,  Celeron  de  Bienville  was 
burying  plates  of  lead,  engraved  with  the  arms  of 
France,  the  ploughs  and  axes  of  Virginian  woods- 
men were  enforcing  a  surer  title  on  the  other.  The 
adverse  powers  were  drawing  near.  The  hour  of 
collision  was  at  hand. 


CHAPTER    III. 

1608-1763. 
THE  FRENCH,  THE  ENGLISH,  AND   THE  INDIANS. 

The  French  colonists  of  Canada  held,  from  the 
beginning,  a  peculiar  intimacy  of  relation  with  the 
Indian  tribes.  With  the  English  colonists  it  was 
far  otherwise  ;  and  the  difference  sprang  from 
several  causes.  The  fur-trade  was  the  life  of  Can- 
ada ;  agriculture  and  commerce  were  the  chief 
sources  of  wealth  to  the  British  provinces.  The 
Eomish  zealots  of  Canada  burned  for  the  conver- 
sion of  the  heathen  ;  their  heretic  rivals  were  fired 
with  no  such  ardor.  And  finally  while  the  ambi- 
tion of  France  grasped  at  empire  over  the  farthest 
deserts  of  the  west,  the  steady  industry  of  the  Eng- 
lish colonists  was  contented  to  cultivate  and  improve 
a  narrow  strip  of  seaboard.  Thus  it  happened  that 
the  farmer  of  Massachusetts  and  the  Virginian 
planter  were  conversant  with  only  a  few  bordering 
tribes,  while  the  priests  and  emissaries  of  France 
were  roaming  the  prairies  with  the  buffalo-hunting 
Pawnees,  or  lodo^insf  in  the  winter  cabins  of  the 
Dahcotah ;  and  swarms  of  savages,  whose  uncouth 
names    were   strange  to    English    ears,   descended 


66  THE  FEENCH,  ENGLISH,  AND  INDIANS.  [1609. 

yearly  from  the  north,  to  bring  their  beaver  and 
otter  skins  to  the  market  of  Montreal. 

The  position  of  Canada  invited  intercourse  with 
the  interior,  and  eminently  favored  her  schemes  of 
commerce  and  policy.  The  river  St.  Lawrence, 
and  the  chain  of  the  great  lakes,  opened  a  vast 
extent  of  inland  navigation ;  while  their  tributary 
streams,  interlocking  with  the  branches  of  the 
Mississippi,  afforded  ready  access  to  that  mighty 
river,  and  gave  the  restless  voyager  free  range 
over  half  the  continent.  But  these  advantages 
were  well  nigh  neutralized.  Nature  opened  the 
way,  but  a  watchful  and  terrible  enemy  guarded  the 
portal.  The  forests  south  of  Lake  Ontario  gave 
harborage  to  the  five  tribes  of  the  L'oquois,  impla- 
cable foes  of  Canada.  They  waylaid  her  trading 
parties,  routed  her  soldiers,  murdered  her  mission- 
aries, and  spread  havoc  and  woe  through  all  her 
settlements. 

It  was  an  evil  hour  for  Canada,  when,  on  the 
twenty-eighth  of  May,  1609,^  Samuel  de  Champlain, 
impelled  by  his  own  adventurous  spirit,  departed 
from  the  hamlet  of  Quebec  to  follow  a  war-party 
of  Algonquins  against  their  hated  enemy,  the  Iro- 
quois. Ascending  the  Sorel,  and  passing  the  rapids 
at  Chambly,  he  embarked  on  the  lake  which  bears 
his  name,  and  with  two  French  attendants,  steered 
southward,  with  his  savage  associates,  toward  the 
rocky  promontory  of  Ticonderoga.  They  moved 
with  all  the  precaution  of  Indian  warfare  ;  when, 

J  Champlain,  Voyages,  136  (Paris,  1632).     Charlevoix,  I.  142. 


1609-1700.]  EXPEDITION   OF   CHAMPLAIN.  67 

at  length,  as  night  was  closing  in,  they  descried  a 
band  of  the  Iroquois  in  their  large  canoes  of  elm 
bark  approaching  through  the  gloom.  Wild  yells 
from  either  side  announced  the  mutual  discovery. 
The  Iroquois  hastened  to  the  shore,  and  all  night 
long  the  forest  resounded  with  their  discordant  war- 
songs  and  fierce  whoops  of  defiance.  Day  dawned, 
and  the  fight  began.  Bounding  from  tree  to  tree, 
the  Iroquois  pressed  forward  to  the  attack ;  but 
when  Champlain  advanced  from  among  the  Algon- 
quins,  and  stood  full  in  sight  before  them,  with  his 
strange  attire,  his  shining  breastplate,  and  features 
unlike  their  own, —  when,  they  saw  the  flash  of  his 
arquebuse,  and  beheld  two  of  their  chiefs  fall  dead, 
—  they  could  not  contain  their  terror,  but  fled  for 
shelter  into  the  depths  of  the  wood.  The  Algon- 
quins  pursued,  slaying  many  in  the  flight,  and  the 
victory  was  complete. 

Such  was  the  first  collision  between  the  white 
men  and  the  Iroquois  ;  and  Champlain  flattered 
himself  that  the  latter  had  learned  for  the  future 
to  respect  the  arms  of  France.  He  was  fatally 
deceived.  The  Iroquois  recovered  from  their 
terrors,  but  they  never  forgave  the  injury  ;  and  yet 
it  would  be  unjust  to  charge  upon  Champlain  the 
origin  of  the  desolating  wars  which  w^ere  soon  to 
scourge  the  colony.  The  Indians  of  Canada,  friends 
and  neighbors  of  the  French,  had  long  been  har- 
assed by  inroads  of  the  fierce  confederates,  and 
under  any  circumstances  the  French  must  soon 
have  become  parties  to  the  quarrel. 

Whatever   may  have   been  its  origin,  the  war 


68  THE  FRENCH,  ENGLISH,  AND  INDIANS.     [1609-1700. 

was  fruitful  of  misery  to  the  youthful  colony. 
The  passes  were  beset  by  ambushed  war-parties. 
The  routes  between  Quebec  and  Montreal  were 
watched  with  tiger-like  vigilance.  Bloodthirsty 
warriors  prowled  about  the  outskirts  of  the  settle- 
ments. Again  and  again  the  miserable  people, 
driven  within  the  palisades  of  their  forts,  looked 
forth  upon  wasted  harvests  and  blazing  roofs.  The 
Island  of  Montreal  was  swept  with  fire  and  steel. 
The  fur-trade  was  interrupted,  since  for  months 
together  all  communication  was  cut  off  with  the 
friendly  tribes  of  the  west.  Agriculture  was 
checked  ;  the  fields  lay  fallow,  and  frequent  fam- 
ine was  the  necessary  result.^  The  name  of  the 
Iroquois  became  a  by-word  of  horror  through  the 
colony,  and  to  the  sufi'ering  Canadians  they  seemed 
troops  of  incarnate  fiends.  Revolting  rites  and 
monstrous  superstitions  were  imputed  to  them ; 
and,  among  the  rest,  it  was  currently  believed  that 
they  cherished  the  custom  of  immolating  young 
children,  burning  them,  and  drinking  the  ashes 
mixed  with  water  to  increase  their  bravery.^  Yet 
the  wildest  imaginations  could  scarcely  exceed  the 
truth.  At  the  attack  of  Montreal,  they  placed 
infants  over  the  embers,  and  forced  the  wretched 
mothers  to  turn  the  spit ;  ^  and  those  who  fell 
within  their  clutches  endured  torments  too  hideous 
for  description.  Their  ferocity  was  equalled  only 
by  their  courage  and  address. 

1  Vimont,  Golden,  Gharlevoix,  passim. 

2  Vimont  seems  to  believe  the  story.  —  Rel.  de  la  N.  F.  1640,  195. 

3  Charlevoix,  I.  549. 


1696-1700.]  EXPEDITION   OE  ERONTENAC.  69 

At  intervals,  the  afflicted  colony  found  respite 
from  its  sufferings  ;  and,  through  the  efforts  of  the 
Jesuits,  fair  hopes  began  to  rise  of  propitiating 
the  terrible  foe.  At  one  time,  the  influence  of  the 
priests  availed  so  far,  that  under  their  auspices  a 
French  colony  was  formed  in  the  very  heart  of  the 
Iroquois  country  ;  but  the  settlers  were  soon  forced 
to  a  precipitate  flight,  and  the  war  broke  out 
afresh.^  The  French,  on  their  part,  were  not  idle ; 
they  faced  their  assailants  with  characteristic  gal- 
lantry. Courcelles,  Tracy,  De  la  Barre,  and  De 
Nonville  invaded  by  turns,  with  various  success, 
the  forest  haunts  of  the  confederates ;  and  at 
length,  in  the  year  1696,  the  veteran  Count  Fron- 
tenac  marched  upon  their  cantons  with  all  the 
force  of  Canada.  Stemming  the  surges  of  La  Chine, 
gliding  through  the  romantic  channels  of  the 
Thousand  Islands,  and  over  the  glimmering  surface 
of  Lake  Ontario,  and  trailing  in  long  array  up  the 
current  of  the  Oswego,  they  disembarked  on  the 
margin  of  the  Lake  of  Onondaga ;  and,  startling 
the  woodland  echoes  with  the  clangor  of  their 
trumpets,  urged  their  march  through  the  mazes  of 
the  forest.  Never  had  those  solitudes  beheld  so 
strange  a  pageantry.  The  Indian  allies,  naked  to 
the  waist  and  horribly  painted,  adorned  with 
streaming  scalp-locks  and  fluttering  plumes,  stole 
crouching  among  the  thickets,  or  peered  with 
lynx-eyed  vision  through  the  labyrinths  of  foliage. 
Scouts  and  forest-rangers  scoured  the  woods  in 
front  and  flank  of  the  marching   columns  —  men 

i  A.  D.  1654-1658.  —  Doc.  Hist.  N.  Y.  I.  47. 


70  THE  FRENCH,  ENGLISH,  AND  INDIANS.     [1696-1700. 

trained  among  the  hardships  of  the  fur-trade,  thin, 
sinewy,  and  strong,  arrayed  in  wild  costume  of 
beaded  moccason,  scarlet  leggin,  and  frock  of  buck- 
skin, fantastically  garnished  with  many-colored 
embroidery  of  porcupine.  '  Then  came  the  levies 
of  the  colony,  in  gray  capotes  and  gaudy  sashes, 
and  the  trained  battalions  from  old  France  in 
cuirass  and  head-piece,  veterans  of  European  wars. 
Plumed  cavaliers  were  there,  who  had  followed 
the  standards  of  Conde  or  Turenne,  and  who,  even 
in  the  depths  of  a  wilderness,  scorned  to  lay  aside 
the  martial  foppery  which  bedecked  the  camp  and 
court  of  Louis  the  Magnificent.  The  stern  com- 
mander was  borne  along  upon  a  litter  in  the  midst, 
his  locks  bleached  with  years,  but  his  eye  kindling 
with  the  quenchless  fire  which,  like  a  furnace, 
burned  hottest  w^hen  its  fuel  was  almost  spent. 
Thus,  beneath  the  sepulchral  arches  of  the  forest, 
through  tangled  thickets,  and  over  prostrate  trunks, 
the  aged  nobleman  advanced  to  wreak  his  ven- 
geance upon  empty  wdgwams  and  deserted  maize- 
fields.^ 

Even  the  fierce  courage  of  the  Iroquois  began  to 
quail  before  these  repeated  attacks,  while  the  grad- 
ual growth  of  the  colony,  and  the  arrival  of  troops 
from  France,  at  length  convinced  them  that  they 
could  not  destroy  Canada.  With  the  opening  of 
the  eighteenth  century,  their  rancor  showed  signs 
of  abating  ;  and  in  the  year  1726,  by  dint  of  skil- 
ful intrigue,  the  French  succeeded  in  establishing 
a  permanent  military  post  at  the  important  pass  of 

1  Official  Papers  of  the  Expedition.  —Doc.  Hist.  N.  Y.  I.  323. 


1700-1740.]  TEIUMPHS    OF   THE   FRENCH.  71 

Niagara,  within  the  limits  of  the  confederacy.^ 
Meanwhile,  in  spite  of  every  obstacle,  the  power 
of  France  had  rapidly  extended  its  boundaries  in 
the  west.  French  influence  diffused  itself  through 
a  thousand  channels,  among  distant  tribes,  hostile, 
for  the  most  part,  to  the  domineering  Iroquois. 
Forts,  mission-houses,  and  armed  trading  stations 
secured  the  principal  passes.  Traders,  and  cou- 
rears  de  hois  pushed  their  adventurous  traffic  into 
the  wildest  deserts  ;  and  French  guns  and  hatchets, 
French  beads  and  cloth,  French  tobacco  and 
brandy,  were  known  from  where  the  stunted  Es- 
quimaux burrowed  in  their  snow  caves,  to  where 
the  Camanches  scoured  the  plains  of  the  south  with 
their  banditti  cavalry.  Still  this  far-extended  com- 
merce continued  to  advance  westward.  In  1738, 
La  Verandye  essayed  to  reach  those  mysterious 
mountains  which,  as  the  Indians  alleged,  lay  be- 
yonrl  the  arid  deserts  of  the  Missouri  and  the  Sas- 
katchawan.  Indian  hostility  defeated  his  enterprise, 
but  not  before  he  had  struck  far  out  into  these 
unknown  wilds,  and  formed  a  line  of  trading  posts, 
one  of  which.  Fort  de  la  Reine,  was  planted  on 
the  Assinniboin,  a  hundred  leagues  beyond  Lake 
Winnipeg.  At  that  early  period,  France  left  her 
footsteps  upon  the  dreary  wastes  which  even  now 
have  no  other  tenants  than  the  Indian  buffalo- 
hunter  or  the  roving  trapper. 

The  fur-trade  of  the  English  colonists  opposed 
but  feeble  rivah-y  to  that  of  their  hereditary  foes. 
At  an  early  period,  favored  by  the  friendship  of 

1  Doc.  Hist.  N.  Y.  I.  446. 


72  THE  FRENCH,  ENGLISH,  AND  INDIANS.     [1687-1750. 

the  Iroquois,  they  attempted  to  open  a  traffic  with 
the  Algonquin  tribes  of  the  great  lakes  ;  and  in 
the  year  1687,  Major  McGregory  ascended  with  a 
boat  load  of  goods  to  Lake  Huron,  where  his 
appearance  excited  great  commotion,  and  where 
he  was  seized  and  imprisoned  by  the  French.^ 
From  this  time  forward,  the  English  fur-trade  lan- 
guished, until  the  year  1725,  when  Governor 
Burnet,  of  New  York,  established  a  post  on  Lake 
Ontario,  at  the  mouth  of  the  river  Oswego ; 
whither,  lured  by  the  cheapness  and  excellence 
of  the  English  goods,  crowds  of  savages  soon  con- 
gregated from  every  side,  to  the  unspeakable 
annoyance  of  the  French.^  Meanwhile,  a  consid- 
erable commerce  was  springing  up  with  the  Cher- 
okees  and  other  tribes  of  the  south  ;  and  during 
the  first  half  of  the  century,  the  people  of  Penn- 
sylvania began  to  cross  the  Alleghanies,  and  carry 
on  a  lucrative  traffic  with  the  tribes  of  the  Ohio. 
In  1749,  La  Jonquiere,  the  Governor  of  Canada, 
learned,  to  his  great  indignation,  that  several 
English  traders  had  reached  Sandusky,  and  were 
exerting  a  bad  influence  upon  the  Indians  of  that 
quarter ;  ^  and  two  years  later,  he  caused  four  of 
the  intruders  to  be  seized  near  the  Ohio,  and  sent 
prisoners  to  Canada.^ 

These  early  efforts  of  the  English,  considerable 
as  they  were,  can  ill  bear  comparison  with  the 
vast  extent  of  the  French  interior  commerce.     In 

1  La  Hontan,  Voyages,  I.  74.     Golden,  Memorial  on  the  Fur-Trade. 

2  Doc.  Hist.  N.  Y.  1.  444. 

8  Smith,  Hist.  Canada,  I.  214. 
*  Pr€cis  des  Faits,  89. 


1625-1750.]     THE  ENGLISH  AND   THE  IROQUOIS.  73 

respect  also  to  missionary  enterprise,  and  the  polit- 
ical influence  resulting  from  it,  the  French  had 
every  advantage  over  rivals  whose  zeal  for  conver- 
sion was  neither  kindled  by  fanaticism  nor  fostered 
by  an  ambitious  government.  Eliot  labored  within 
call  of  Boston,  while  the  heroic  Brebeuf  faced  the 
ghastly  perils  of  the  western  wilderness  ;  and  the 
wanderings  of  Brainerd  sink  into  insignificance 
compared  with  those  of  the  devoted  Rasles.  Yet, 
in  judging  the  relative  merits  of  the  Eomish  and 
Protestant  missionaries,  it  must  not  be  forgotten 
that  while  the  former  contented  themselves  with 
sprinkling  a  few  drops  of  water  on  the  forehead 
of  the  proselyte,  the  latter  sought  to  wean  him 
from  his  barbarism  and  penetrate  his  savage  heart 
with  the  truths  of  Christianity. 

In  respect,  also,  to  direct  political  influence,  the 
advantage  was  wholly  on  the  side  of  France.  The 
English  colonies,  broken  into  separate  governments, 
w^ere  incapable  of  exercising  a  vigorous  and  consist- 
ent Indian  policy  ;  and  the  measures  of  one  gov- 
ernment often  clashed  with  those  of  another.  Even 
in  the  separate  provinces,  the  popular  nature  of 
the  constitution  and  the  quarrels  of  governors  and 
assemblies  were  unfavorable  to  efficient  action  ;  and 
this  was  more  especially  the  case  in  the  province 
of  New  York,  where  the  vicinity  of  the  Iroquois 
rendered  strenuous  yet  prudent  measures  of  the 
utmost  importance.  The  powerful  confederates, 
hating  the  French  with  bitter  enmity,  naturally 
inclined  to  the  English  alliance  ;  and  a  proper  treat- 
ment would  have  secured  theu'  firm   and   lasting 


74  THE  FRENCH,  ENGLISH,  AND  INDIANS.     [1625-1750. 

friendship.  But,  at  the  early  periods  of  her  history, 
the  assembly  of  New  York  was  made  up  in  great 
measure  of  narrow-minded  men,  more  eager  to 
consult  their  own  petty  interests  than  to  pursue 
any  far-sighted  scheme  of  public  welfare.^  Other 
causes  conspired  to  injure  the  British  interest  in 
this  quarter.  The  annual  present  sent  from  Eng- 
land to  the  Iroquois  was  often  embezzled  by  corrupt 
governors  or  their  favorites.^  The  proud  chiefs 
were  disgusted  by  the  cold  and  haughty  bearing  of 
the  English  officials,  and  a  pernicious  custom  pre- 
vailed of  conducting  Indian  negotiations  through 
the  medium  of  the  fur-traders,  a  class  of  men  held 
in  contempt  by  the  Iroquois,  and  known  among 
them  by  the  significant  title  of  "  rum  carriers."^ 
In  short,  through  all  the  counsels  of  the  province 
Indian  affairs  were  grossly  and  madly  neglected.^ 

With  more  or  less  emphasis,  the  same  remark 
holds  true  of  all  the  other  English  colonies.'^    With 

1  Smith,  Hist.  N.  Y.  passim. 

2  Rev.  Military  Operations,  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.  1st  Series,  VII.  67. 

3  Golden,  Hist.  Five  Nat.  161. 

4  MS.  Papers  of  Cadwallader  C olden.  MS.  Papers  of  Sir  William 
Johnson. 

"  We  find  the  Indians,  as  far  back  as  the  very  confused  manuscript 
records  in  my  possession,  repeatedly  upbraiding  this  province  for  tlieir 
negligence,  their  avarice,  and  their  want  of  assisting  them  at  a  time  when 
it  was  certainly  in  their  power  to  destroy  the  infant  colony  of  Ganada, 
altliough  supported  by  many  nations ;  and  this  is  likewise  confessed  by 
the  writings  of  the  managers  of  tliese  times."  —  MS.  Letter  —  Johnson  to 
the  Board  of  Trade,  May  'M,  1765. 

5  "  I  apprehend  it  will  clearly  appear  to  you,  that  the  colonies  had  all 
along  neglected  to  cultivate  a  proper  understanding  with  the  Indians, 
and  from  a  mistaken  notion  have  greatly  despised  them,  without  consider- 
ing that  it  is  in  tlieir  power  to  lay  waste  and  destroy  the  frontiers.  This 
opinion  arose  from  our  confidence  in  our  scattered  numbers,  and  the  par- 
simony of  our  people,  who,  from  an  error  in  politics,  would  not  expend 
five  pounds  to  save  twenty."  —  MS.  Letter — Johnson  to  the  Board  of  Trade, 
November  13,  1763. 


1625-1750.]  POLICY   OF   THE  FRENCH.  75 

those  of  France,  it  was  far  otherwise  ;  and  this 
difference  between  the  rival  powers  was  naturally 
incident  to  their  different  forms  of  government,  and 
different  conditions  of  development.  France  labored 
with  eager  diligence  to  conciliate  the  Indians  and 
w^in  them  to  espouse  her  cause.  Her  agents  were 
busy  in  every  village,  studying  the  language  of  the 
inmates,  complying  with  their  usages,  flattering 
their  prejudices,  caressing  them,  cajoling  them,  and 
whispering  friendly  warnings  in  their  ears  against 
the  wicked  designs  of  the  English.  When  a  party 
of  Indian  chiefs  visited  a  French  fort,  they  were 
greeted  with  the  firing  of  cannon  and  rolling  of 
drums ;  they  were  regaled  at  the  tables  of  the 
officers,  and  bribed  with  medals  and  decorations, 
scarlet  uniforms  and  French  flags.  Far  wiser  than 
their  rivals,  the  French  never  ruffled  the  self-com- 
placent dignity  of  their  guests,  never  insulted  their 
religious  notions,  nor  ridiculed  their  ancient  cus- 
toms. They  met  the  savage  half  way,  and  showed 
an  abundant  readiness  to  mould  their  own  features 
after  his  likeness.^  Count  Frontenac  himself, 
plumed  and  painted  like  an  Indian  chief,  danced 
the  war-dance  and  yelled  the  war-song  at  the  camp 
fires  of  his  delighted  allies.  It  would  have  been 
well  had  the  French  been  less  exact  in  their  imita- 
tions, for  at  times  they  copied  their  model  with 
infamous  fidelity,  and  fell  into  excesses  scarcely  cred- 
ible but  for  the  concurrent  testimony  of  their  own 
writers.     Frontenac  caused  an  Iroquois  prisoner  to 

I  Adair,  Post's  Journals,  Croghan's  Journal,  MSS.  of  Sir  W.  Johnson, 
etc.,  etc. 


76  THE  FRENCH,  ENGLISH,  AND  INDIANS.     [1625-1750. 

be  burnt  alive  to  strike  terror  into  his  countrymen ; 
and  Louvigny,  French  commandant  at  Michillimac- 
kinac,  in  1695,  tortured  an  Iroquois  ambassador  to 
death,  that  he  might  break  off  a  negotiation  between 
that  people  and  the  WyandotsJ  Nor  are  these 
the  only  well-attested  instances  of  such  execrable 
inhumanity.  But  if  the  French  were  guilty  of 
these  cruelties  against  their  Indian  enemies,  they 
were  no  less  guilty  of  unworthy  compliance  with 
the  demands  of  their  Indian  friends,  in  cases  where 
Christianity  and  civilization  would  have  dictated  a 
prompt  refusal.  Even  Montcalm  stained  his  bright 
name  by  abandoning  the  hapless  defenders  of 
Oswego  and  William  Henry  to  the  tender  mercies 
of  an  Indian  mob. 

In  general,  however,  the  Indian  policy  of  the 
French  cannot  be  charged  with  obsequiousness. 
Complaisance  was  tempered  with  dignity.  At  an 
early  period,  they  discerned  the  peculiarities  of  the 
native  character,  and  clearly  saw  that  while  on 
the  one  hand  it  was  necessary  to  avoid  giving 
offence,  it  was  not  less  necessary  on  the  other  to 
assume  a  bold  demeanor  and  a  show  of  power ;  to 
caress  with  one  hand,  and  grasp  a  drawn  sword 
with  the  other.^  Every  crime  against  a  Frenchman 
was  promptly  chastised  by  the  sharp  agency  of 
military  law  ;  while  among  the  English,  the  offender 


1  La  Hontan,  I.  177.     Potherie,  Hist.  Am.  Sept.  11.  298  (Paris,  1722). 

These  facts  afford  no  ground  for  national  reflections,  when  it  is  recol- 
lected that  while  Iroquois  prisoners  were  tortured  in  the  wilds  of  Canada, 
Elizabeth  Gaunt  was  burned  to  death  at  Tyburn  for  yielding  to  the  dic- 
tates of  compassion,  and  giving  shelter  to  a  political  offender. 

2  Le  Jeune,  Rel.  de  la  N.  F.  1636,  193. 


1625-1750.]  AMALGAMATION.  77 

could  only  be  reached  through  the  medium  of  the 
civil  courts,  whose  delays,  uncertainties  and  evasions 
excited  the  wonder  and  provoked  the  contempt  of 
the  Indians. 

It  was  by  observance  of  the  course  indicated 
above,  that  the  French  w^ere  enabled  to  maintain 
themselves  in  small  detached  posts,  far  aloof  from 
the  parent  colony,  and  environed  by  barbarous 
tribes  where  an  English  garrison  would  have  been 
cut  off  in  a  twelvemonth.  They  professed  to  hold 
these  posts,  not  in  their  own  right,  but  purely 
through  the  grace  and  condescension  of  the  sur- 
rounding savages  ;  and  by  this  conciliating  assurance 
they  sought  to  make  good  their  position,  until,  with 
their  growing  strength,  conciliation  should  no  more 
be  needed. 

In  its  efforts  to  win  the  friendship  and  alliance 
of  the  Indian  tribes,  the  French  government  found 
every  advantage  in  the  peculiar  character  of  its 
subjects  —  that  pliant  and  plastic  temper  which 
forms  so  marked  a  contrast  to  the  stubborn  spirit 
of  the  Englishman.  From  the  beginning,  the 
French  showed  a  tendency  to  amalgamate  with  the 
forest  tribes.  "  The  manners  of  the  savages," 
writes  the  Baron  La  Hontan,  "  are  perfectly  agree- 
able to  my  palate  ;  "  and  many  a  restless  adventurer 
of  high  oy  low  degree  might  have  echoed  the  words 
of  the  erratic  soldier.  At  first,  great  hopes  were 
entertained  that,  by  the  mingling  of  French  and 
Indians,  the  latter  would  be  won  over  to  civilization 
and  the  church ;  but  the  effect  was  precisely  the 
reverse ;  for,  as  Charlevoix  observes,   the  savages 


78  THE  FRENCH,  ENGLISH,  AND  INDIANS.     [1625-1750. 

did  not  become  French,  but  the  French  became 
savages.  Hundreds  betook  themselves  to  the  forest, 
never  more  to  return.  These  outflowings  of  French 
civilization  were  merged  in  the  waste  of  barbarism, 
as  a  river  is  lost  in  the  sands  of  the  desert.  The 
wandering  Frenchman  chose  a  wife  or  a  concu- 
bine among  his  Indian  friends ;  and,  in  a  few 
generations,  scarcely  a  tribe  of  the  west  was  free 
from  an  infusion  of  Celtic  blood.  The  French 
empire  in  x^merica  could  exhibit  among  its  subjects 
every  shade  of  color  from  white  to  red,  every  gra- 
dation of  culture  from  the  highest  civilization  of 
Paris  to  the  rudest  barbarism  of  the  wigwam. 

The  fur-trade  engendered  a  peculiar  class  of 
men,  known  by  the  appropriate  name  of  bush- 
rangers, or  coureitrs  de  hois^  half-civilized  vagrants, 
whose  chief  vocation  was  conducting  the  canoes  of 
the  traders  along  the  lakes  and  rivers  of  the  interior  ; 
many  of  them,  however,  shaking  loose  every  tie  of 
blood  and  kindred,  identified  themselves  with  the 
Indians,  and  sank  into  utter  barbarism.  In  many 
a  squalid  camp  among  the  plains  and  forests  of 
the  west,  the  traveller  would  have  encountered 
men  owning  the  blood  and  speaking  the  language 
of  France,  yet,  in  their  swarthy  visages  and  bar- 
barous costume,  seeming  more  akin  to  those  with 
whom  they  had  cast  their  lot.  The  renegade  of 
civilization  caught  the  habits  and  imbibed  the  pre- 
judices of  his  chosen  associates.  He  loved  to 
decorate  his  long  hair  with  eagle  feathers,  to  make 
his  face  hideous  with  vermilion,  ochre,  and  soot, 
and  to  adorn  his  greasy  hunting  frock  with  horse- 


1625-1750.]  ENGLISH   FUK-TKADERS.  79 

hair  fringes.  His  dwelling,  if  he  had  one,  was  a 
wigwam.  He  lounged  on  a  bear-skin  while  his 
squaw  boiled  his  venison  and  lighted  his  pipe.  In 
hunting,  in  dancing,  in  singing,  in  taking  a  scalp, 
he  rivalled  the  genuine  Indian.  His  mind  was 
tinctured  with  the  superstitions  of  the  forest.  He 
had  faith  in  the  magic  drum  of  the  conjuror;  he 
was  not  sure  that  a  thunder  cloud  could  not  be 
frightened  away  by  whistling  at  it  through  the  wing 
bone  of  an  eagle  ;  he  carried  the  tail  of  a  rattle- 
snake in  his  bullet  pouch  by  way  of  amulet ;  and 
he  placed  implicit  trust  in  his  dreams.  This  class 
of  men  is  not  yet  extinct.  In  the  cheerless  wilds 
beyond  the  northern  lakes,  or  among  the  mountain 
solitudes  of  the  distant  w^est,  they  may  still  be 
found,  unchanged  in  life  and  character  since  the 
day  when  Louis  the  Great  claimed  sovereignty  over 
this  desert  empire. 

The  borders  of  the  English  colonies  displayed 
no  such  phenomena  of  mingling  races  ;  for  here  a 
thorny  and  impracticable  barrier  divided  the  white 
man  from  the  red.  The  English  fur-traders,  and 
the  rude  men  in  their  employ,  showed  it  is  true 
an  ample  alacrity  to  fling  off  the  restraints  of  civil- 
ization ;  but  though  they  became  barbarians,  they 
did  not  become  Indians  ;  and  scorn  on  the  one  side 
and  hatred  on  the  other  still  marked  the  intercourse 
of  the  hostile  races.  With  the  settlers  of  the 
frontier  it  was  much  the  same.  Rude,  fierce  and 
contemptuous,  they  daily  encroached  upon  the 
hunting-grounds  of  the  Indians,  and  then  paid  them 
for  the  injury  with  curses  and  threats.     Thus  the 


80  THE  FRENCH,  ENGLISH,  AND  INDIANS.     [1625-1750. 

native  population  shrank  back  from  before  the  Eng- 
lish, as  from  before  an  advancing  pestilence  ;  while, 
on  the  other  hand,  in  the  very  heart  of  Canada, 
Indian  communities  sprang  up,  cherished  by  the 
government,  and  favored  by  the  easy-tempered 
people.  At  Lorette,  at  Caughnawaga,  at  St.  Fran- 
cis, and  elsewhere  within  the  province,  large  bands 
were  gathered  together,  consisting  in  part  of  fugi- 
tives from  the  borders  of  the  hated  English,  and 
aiding  in  time  of  war  to  swell  the  forces  of  the 
French  in  repeated  forays  against  the  settlements 
of  New  York  and  New  England. 

There  was  one  of  the  English  provinces  marked 
out  from  among  the  rest  by  the  peculiar  character 
of  its  founders,  and  by  the  course  of  conduct 
which  was  there  pursued  towards  the  Indian  tribes. 
William  Penn,  his  mind  warmed  with  a  broad 
philanthropy,  and  enlightened  by  liberal  views  of 
human  government  and  human  rights,  planted  on 
the  banks  of  the  Delaw^are  the  colony  which,  vivi- 
fied by  the  principles  it  embodied,  grew  into  the 
great  commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania.  Penn's 
treatment  of  the  Indians  was  equally  prudent  and 
humane,  and  its  results  were  of  high  advantage 
to  the  colony  ;  but  these  results  have  been  exag- 
gerated, and  the  treatment  which  produced  them 
made  the  theme  of  inordinate  praise.  It  required 
no  great  benevolence  to  urge  the  Quakers  to  deal 
kindly  with  their  savage  neighbors.  They  were 
bound  in  common  sense  to  propitiate  them  ;  since, 
by  incurring  their  resentment,  they  would  involve 
themselves  in  the  dilemma  of  submitting  their  necks 


1625-1750.]         THE   QUAKERS  AND  THE  INDIANS.  81 

to  the  tomahawk,  or  wielding  the  carnal  weapon, 
in  glaring  defiance  of  their  pacific  principles.  In 
paying  the  Indians  for  the  lands  which  his  colo- 
nists occupied,  —  a  piece  of  justice  which  has  heen 
greeted  w4th  a  general  clamor  of  applause,  —  Penn, 
as  he  himself  confesses,  acted  on  the  prudent  coun- 
sel of  Compton,  Bishop  of  London.^  Nor  is  there 
any  truth  in  the  representations  of  Kaynal  and 
other  eulogists  of  the  Quaker  legislator,  who  hold 
him  up  to  the  world  as  the  only  European  who 
ever  acquired  Indian  lands  by  purchase,  instead  of 
seizing  them  by  fraud  or  violence.  The  example 
of  purchase  had  been  set  fifty  years  before  by  the 
Puritans  of  New  England  ;  and  several  of  the  other 
colonies  had  more  recently  pursued  the  same  just 
and  prudent  course.^ 

With  regard  to  the  alleged  results  of  the  pacific 
conduct  of  the  Quakers,  our  admiration  will  dimin- 
ish on  closely  viewing  the  circumstances  of  the 
case.  The  position  of  the  colony  was  a  most  for- 
tunate one.  Had  the  Quakers  planted  their  colony 
on  the  banks'  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  or  among  the 
warlike  tribes  of  New  England,  their  shaking  of 
hands  and  assurances  of  tender  regard  would  not 


1  "  I  have  exactly  followed  the  Bishop  of  London's  counsel,  by  buy- 
ing, and  not  taking  away,  the  natives'  land."  —  Penn's  Letto-  to  the  Min- 
istry, Aug.  14,  1683.     See  Chalmer's  Polit.  Ann.  666. 

'-^  "  If  any  of  the  salvages  pretend  right  of  inheritance  to  all  or  any  part 
of  the  lands  granted  in  our  patent,  we  pray  you  endeavor  to  purchase 
their  tytle,  that  we  may  avoid  the  least  scruple  of  intrusion."  —/nsfruc- 
tions  to  Endicot,  1629.     See  Hazard,  State  Papers,  I.  263. 

"  The  inhabitants  of  New  England  had  never,  except  in  the  territory 
of  the  Pequods,  taken  possession  of  a  foot  of  land  without  first  obtaining 
a  title  from  the  Indians."  —  Bancroft,  Hist.  U.  S.  II.  98. 

6 


82  THE  FRENCH,  ENGLISH,  AND  INDIANS.     [1682-1755. 

long  have  availed  to  save  them  from  the  visitations 
of  the  scalping-knife.  But  the  Delawares,  the 
people  on  whose  territory  they  had  settled,  were 
like  themselves  debarred  the  use  of  arms.  The 
Iroquois  had  conquered  them,  disarmed  them,  and 
forced  them  to  adopt  the  opprobrious  name  of 
women.  The  humble  Delawares  were  but  too 
happy  to  receive  the  hand  extended  to  them,  and 
dwell  in  friendship  with  their  pacific  neighbors  ; 
since  to  have  lifted  the  hatchet  would  have  brought 
upon  their  heads  the  vengeance  of  their  conquerors, 
whose  good  will  Penn  had  taken  pains  to  secure.^ 

The  sons  of  Penn,  his  successors  in  the  proprie- 
torship of  the  province,  did  not  evince  the  same 
kindly  feeling  towards  the  Indians  w^hich  had  dis- 
tinguished their  father.  Earnest  to  acquire  new 
lands,  they  commenced  through  their  agents  a 
series  of  unjust  measures,  which  gradually  alien- 
ated the  Indians,  and,  after  a  peace  of  seventy 
years,  produced  a  disastrous  rupture.  The  Quaker 
population  of  the  colony  sympathized  in  the  kind- 
ness which  its  founder  had  cherished  towards  the 
benighted  race.  This  feeling  was  strengthened 
by  years  of  friendly  intercourse  ;  and  except  where 
private  interest  was  concerned,  the  Quakers  made 
good  their  reiterated  professions  of  attachment. 
Kindness  to  the  Indian  was  the  glory  of  their  sect. 
As  years  wore  on,  this  feeling  was  wonderfully 
reenforced  by  the  influence  of  party  spirit.  The 
time  arrived  when,  alienated  by  English  encroach- 

1  He  paid  twice  for  his  lands ;  once  to  the  Iroquois,  who  claimed  them 
by  right  of  conquest,  and  once  to  their  occupants,  the  Delawares. 


1682-1763.]  QUAKERS   AND   INDIANS.  83 

ment  on  the  one  hand  and  French  seduction  on 
the  other,  the  Indians  began  to  assume  a  threaten- 
ing attitude  towards  the  province  ;  and  many 
voices  urged  the  necessity  of  a  resort  to  arms. 
This  measure,  repugnant  alike  to  their  pacific 
principles  and  to  their  love  of  the  Indians,  was 
strenuously  opposed  by  the  Quakers.  Their  affec- 
tion for  the  injured  race  was  now  inflamed  into  a 
sort  of  benevolent  fanaticism.  The  more  rabid  of 
the  sect  would  scarcely  confess  that  an  Indian 
could  ever  do  wrong.  In  their  view,  he  was  al- 
ways sinned  against,  always  the  innocent  victim  of 
injury  and  abuse;  and  in  the  days  of  the  final 
rupture,  when  the  woods  were  full  of  furious  war- 
parties,  and  the  German  and  Irish  settlers  on  the 
frontier  were  butchered  by  hundreds  ;  when  the 
western  sky  was  darkened  with  the  smoke  of  burn- 
ing settlements,  and  the  wretched  fugitives  were 
flying  in  crowds  across  the  Susquehanna,  a  large 
party  among  the  Quakers,  secure  by  their  Phila- 
delphia firesides,  could  not  see  the  necessity  of 
waging  even  a  defensive  war  against  their  favorite 
people.^ 

The  encroachments  on  the  part  of  the  proprie- 
tors, which  have  been  alluded  to  above,  and  which 
many  of    the    Quakers  viewed   with   disapproval, 


1  1755-1763.  The  feelings  of  the  Quakers  at  this  time  may  be  gath- 
ered from  the  following  sources  :  MS.  Account  of  the  Rise  and  Progress  of  the 
Friendly  Association  for  gaining  and  preserving  Peace  with  the  Indians  by 
pacific  Pleasures.  Address  of  the  Friendly  Association  to  Governor  Denny. 
See  Proud,  Hist.  Pa.,  appendix.  Haz.,  Pa.  Reg.  VIII.  273,  293,  323.  But 
a  much  livelier  picture  of  the  prevailing  excitement  will  be  found  in  a 
series  of  party  pamplilets,  published  at  Philadelphia  in  the  year  1764. 


84  THE  FRENCH,  ENGLISH,  AND  INDIANS.     [1737-1763. 

consisted  in  the  fraudulent  interpretation  of  Indian 
deeds  of  conveyance,  and  in  the  granting  out  of 
lands  without  any  conveyance  at  all.  The  most 
notorious  of  these  transactions,  and  the  one  most 
lamentable  in  its  results,  was  commenced  in  the 
year  1737,  and  was  known  by  the  name  of  the 
walking  'purchase.  An  old,  forgotten  deed  was 
raked  out  of  the  dust  of  the  previous  century ;  a 
deed  which  was  in  itself  of  doubtful  validity,  and 
which  had  been  virtually  cancelled  by  a  subsequent 
agreement.  On  this  rotten  title  the  proprietors 
laid  claim  to  a  valuable  tract  of  land  on  the  right 
bank  of  the  Delaware.  Its  western  boundary  was 
to  be  defined  by  a  line  drawn  from  a  certain  point 
on  Neshaminey  Creek,  in  a  north-westerly  direction, 
as  far  as  a  man  could  walk  in  a  day  and  a  half. 
From  the  end  of  the  walk,  a  line  drawn  eastward 
to  the  river  Delaware  was  to  form  the  northern 
limit  of  the  purchase.  The  proprietors  sought  out 
the  most  active  men  who  could  be  heard  of,  and 
put  them  in  training  for  the  walk  ;  at  the  same  time 
laying  out  a  smooth  road  along  the  intended  course, 
that  no  obstructions  might  mar  their  speed.  By 
this  means  an  incredible  distance  was  accomplished 
within  the  limited  time.  And  now  it  only  remained 
to  adjust  the  northern  boundary.  Instead  of  run- 
ning the  line  directly  to  the  Delaware,  according 
to  the  evident  meaning  of  the  deed,  the  proprietors 
inclined  it  so  far  to  the  north  as  to  form  an  acute 
angle  with  the  river,  and  enclose  many  hundred 
thousand  acres  of  valuable  land,  which  would 
otherwise  have  remained  in  the  hands  of  the  Iiidi- 


]  737-1742.]  THE  WALKING  PURCHASE.  85 

ans/  The  land  thus  obtained  lay  in  the  Forks  of 
the  Delaware,  above  Easton,  and  was  then  occupied 
by  a  powerful  branch  of  the  Delawares,  who,  to 
their  amazement,  now  heard  the  summons  to  quit 
for  ever  their  populous  village  and  fields  of  half- 
grown  maize.  In  rage  and  distress  they  refused 
to  obey,  and  the  proprietors  were  in  a  perplexing 
dilemma.  Force  was  necessary  ;  but  a  Quaker 
legislature  would  never  consent  to  fight,  and  espe- 
cially to  fight  against  Indians.  An  expedient  was 
hit  upon,  at  once  safe  and  effectual.  The  Iro- 
quois were  sent  for.  A  deputation  of  their  chiefs 
appeared  at  Philadelphia,  and  having  been  well 
bribed,  and  deceived  by  false  accounts  of  the 
transaction,  they  consented  to  remove  the  refrac- 
tory Delawares.  The  delinquents  were  summoned 
before  their  conquerors,  and  the  Iroquois  orator, 
Canassatego,  a  man  of  tall  stature  and  imposing 
presence,^  looking  with  a  grim  countenance  on  his 
cowering  auditors,  addressed  them  in  the  follow- 
ing words  :  — 

''  You  ought  to  be  taken  by  the  hair  of  the  head 
and  shaken  soundly  till  you  recover  your  senses. 
You  don't  know  what  you  are  doing.     Our  brother 

1  Causes  of  the  Alienation  of  the  Delaware  and  Shawnoe  Indians  from  the 
British  Interest,  33,  68,  (Lond.  1759).  This  work  is  a  pamphlet  written  by 
Charles  Thompson,  afterwards  secretary  of  Congress,  and  designed  to 
explain  the  causes  of  the  rupture  which  took  place  at  the  outbreak  of  the 
French  war.  The  text  is  supported  by  copious  references  to  treaties  and 
documents.  I  have  seen  a  copy  in  the  possession  of  Francis  Fisher,  Esq., 
of  Philadelphia,  containing  marginal  notes  in  the  handwriting  of  James 
Hamilton,  who  was  twice  governor  of  the  province  under  the  proprietary 
instructions.  In  these  notes,  though  he  cavils  at  several  unimportant 
points  of  the  relation,  he  suffers  the  essential  matter  to  pass  unchallenged. 

2  Wifham  Marshe's  Journal, 


86  THE  FRENCH,  ENGLISH,  AND  INDIANS.     [1737-1742. 

Onas's  ^  cause  is  very  just.  On  the  other  hand, 
your  cause  is  bad,  and  you  are  bent  to  break  the 
chain  of  friendship.  How  came  you  to  take  upon 
you  to  sell  land  at  all  ?  We  conquered  you  ;  we 
made  women  of  you ;  you  know  you  are  women, 
and  can  no  more  sell  land  than  women.  This  land 
you  claim  is  gone  down  your  throats;  you  have 
been  furnished  with  clothes,  meat,  and  drink,  by 
the  goods  paid  you  for  it,  and  now  you  want  it 
again,  like  children  as  you  are.  What  makes  you 
sell  land  in  the  dark  1  Did  you  ever  tell  us  you 
had  sold  this  land  ?  Did  we  ever  receive  any  part, 
even  the  value  of  a  pipe-shank,  from  you  for  it? 
We  charge  you  to  remove  instantly  ;  we  don't  give 
you  the  liberty  to  think  about  it.  You  are  women. 
Take  the  advice  of  a  wise  man  and  remove  im- 
mediately. You  may  return  to  the  other  side  of 
Delaware,  where  you  came  from ;  but  we  do  not 
know  whether,  considering  how  you  have  demeaned 
yourselves,  you  will  be  permitted  to  live  there ;  or 
whether  you  have  not  swallowed  that  land  down 
your  throats  as  well  as  the  land  on  this  side.  We 
therefore  assign  you  two  places  to  go,  either  to 
Wyoming  or  Shamokin.  We  shall  then  have  you 
more  under  our  eye,  and  shall  see  how  you  behave. 
Don't  deliberate,  but  take  this  belt  of  wampum, 
and  go  at  once."  ^ 

The  unhappy  Delawares  dared  not  disobey.    They 
left  their  ancient  homes,  and  removed,  as  they  had 

1  Onas  was  the  name  given  by  the  Indians  to  William  Penn  and  his 
successors. 

2  Minutes  of  Indian  council  held  at  Philadelphia,  1742. 


1700-1755.]  ENCROACHMENT  OF  SETTLERS.  87 

been  ordered,  to  the  Susquehanna,  where  some 
settled  at  Sharnokin,  and  some  at  Wyoming.^  From 
an  early  period,  the  Indians  had  been  annoyed  by 
the  unlicensed  intrusion  of  settlers  upon  their  lauds, 
and,  in  1728,  they  had  bitterly  complained  of  the 
wrong.^  The  evil  continued  to  increase.  Many 
families,  chiefly  German  and  Irish,  began  to  cross 
the  Susquehanna  and  build  their  cabins  along  the 
valleys  of  the  Juniata  and  its  tributary  waters.  The 
Delawares  sent  frequent  remonstrances  from  their 
new  abodes,  and  the  Iroquois  themselves  made 
angry  complaints,  declaring  that  the  lands  of  the 
Juniata  were  theirs  by  right  of  conquest,  and  that 
they  had  given  them  to  their  cousins,  the  Delawares, 
for  hunting-grounds.  Some  05*0 rts  at  redress  were 
made  ;  but  the  remedy  proved  inefl'ectual,  and  the 
discontent  of  the  Indians  increased  with  every  year. 
The  Shawanoes,  with  many  of  the  Delawares, 
removed  westward,  where  for  a  time  they  would 
be  safe  from  intrusion ;  and  by  the  middle  of  the 
century,  the  Delaware  tribe  was  separated  into  two 
divisions,  one  of  which  remained  upon  the  Susque- 
hanna, while  the  other,  in  conjunction  with  the 
Shawanoes,  dwelt  on  the  waters  of  the  Alleghany 
and  the  Muskingum. 

But  now  the  French  began  to  push  their  advanced 
posts  into  the  valley  of  the  Ohio.  Unhappily  for 
the  English  interest,  they  found  the  irritated  minds 
of  the  Indians  in  a  state  which  favored  their  efl'orts 
at  seduction,  and  held  forth  a  flattering  promise 

1  Chapman,  Hist.  Wyoming,  19. 

2  Colonial  Records,  III.  340. 


88  THE  FRENCH,  ENCxLISH,  AND  INDIANS.     [1700-1755 

that  tribes  so  long  faithful  to  the  English  might 
soon  be  won  over  to  the  cause  of  France. 

While  the  English  interests  wore  so  inauspicious 
an  aspect  in  this  quarter,  their  prospects  were  not 
much  better  among  the  Iroquois.  Since  the  peace 
of  Utrecht,  in  1713,  these  powerful  tribes  had  so 
far  forgotten  their  old  malevolence  against  the 
French,  that  the  latter  were  enabled  to  bring  all 
their  machinery  of  conciliation  to  bear  upon  them. 
They  turned  the  opportunity  to  such  good  account, 
as  not  only  to  smooth  away  the  asperity  of  the 
ancient  grudge,  but  also  to  rouse  in  the  minds  of 
their  former  foes  a  growing  jealousy  against  the 
English.  Several  accidental  circumstances  did 
much  to  aggravate  this  feeling.  The  Iroquois 
were  in  the  habit  of  sending  out  frequent  war- 
parties  against  their  enemies,  the  Cherokees  and 
Catawbas,  who  dwelt  near  the  borders  of  Carolina 
and  Virginia  ;  and  in  these  forays  the  invaders 
often  became  so  seriously  embroiled  with  the  white 
settlers,  that  sharp  frays  took  place,  and  an  open 
war  seemed  likely  to  ensue.^ 

It  was  with  great  difficulty  that  the  irritation 
caused  by  these  untoward  accidents  was  allayed  ; 
and  even  then  enough  remained  in  the  neglect 
of  governments,  the  insults  of  traders,  and  the 
haughty  bearing  of  officials,  to  disgust  the  proud 
confederates  with  their  English  allies.  In  the  war 
of  1745,  they  yielded  but  cold  and  doubtful  aid; 
and  fears  were  entertained  of  their  final  estrange- 

1  Letter  of  Governor  Spotswood,  of  Virginia,  Jan.  25,  1720.  See 
Colonial  Records  of  Pa.  III.  75. 


1749-1755.]  DEFECTION  OF  THE  IROQUOIS.  89 

ment.'  This  result  became  still  more  imminent, 
when,  in  the  year  1749,  the  French  priest  Picquet 
established  his  mission  of  La  Presentation  on  the 
St.  Lawrence,  at  the  site  of  Ogdensburg.^  This 
pious  father,  like  the  martial  churchmen  of  an 
earlier  day,  deemed  it  no  scandal  to  gird  on  earthly 
armor  against  the  enemies  of  the  faith.  He  built 
a  fort  and  founded  a  settlement ;  he  mustered  the 
Indians  about  him  from  far  and  near,  organized 
their  governments,  and  marshalled  their  war-parties. 
From  the  crenelled  walls  of  his  mission-house  the 
warlike  apostle  could  look  forth  upon  a  military 
colony  of  his  own  creating,  upon  farms  and  clear- 
ings, white  Canadian  cabins,  and  the  bark  lodges 
of  Indian  hordes  which  he  had  gathered  under  his 
protecting  w^ing.  A  chief  object  of  the  settlement 
was  to  form  a  barrier  against  the  English ;  but  the 
purpose  dearest  to  the  missionary's  heart  was  to 
gain  over  the  Iroquois  to  the  side  of  France  ;  and 
in  this  he  succeeded  so  well,  that,  as  a  writer  of 
good  authority  declares,  the  number  of  their  war- 
riors within  the  circle  of  his  influence  surpassed 
the  whole  remaining  force  of  the  confederacy.^ 

Thoughtful  men  in  the  English  colonies  saw  with 
anxiety  the  growing  defection  of  the  Iroquois,  and 
dreaded  lest,  in  the  event  of  a  war  with  France,  her 
ancient  foes  might  now  be  found  her  friends.  But 
in  this  ominous  conjuncture,  one  strong  influence 
was  at  work  to  bind  the  confederates  to  their  old 


1  Minutes  of  Indian  Council,  1746. 

2  Doc.  Hist  N.  Y.  I.  423. 

3  MS.  Letter  —  Colden  to  Lord  Halifax,  no  date. 


90  THE  FRENCH,  ENGLISH,  AND  INDIANS.     [1734-1755. 

alliance ;  and  this  influence  was  wielded  by  a  man 
so  remarkable  in  his  character,  and  so  conspicuous 
an  actor  in  the  scenes  of  the  ensuing  history,  as  to 
demand  at  least  some  passing  notice. 

About  the  year  1734,  in  consequence  it  is  said 
of  the  hapless  issue  of  a  love  affair,  William  John- 
son, a  young  Irishman,  came  over  to  America  at 
the  age  of  nineteen,  where  he  assumed  the  charge 
of  an  extensive  tract  of  wild  land  in  the  province 
of  New  York,  belonging  to  his  uncle.  Admiral  Sir 
Peter  Warren.  Settling  in  the  valley  of  the  Mo- 
hawk, he  carried  on  a  prosperous  traffic  with  the 
Indians  ;  and  while  he  rapidly  rose  to  wealth,  he 
gained,  at  the  same  time,  an  extraordinary  influence 
over  the  neighboring  Iroquois.  As  his  resources 
increased,  he  built  two  mansions  in  the  valley, 
known  respectively  by  the  names  of  Johnson  Castle 
and  Johnson  Hall,  the  latter  of  which,  a  well-con- 
structed building  of  wood  and  stone,  is  still  standing 
in  the  village  of  Johnstown.  Johnson  Castle  was 
situated  at  some  distance  higher  up  the  river.  Both 
were  fortified  against  attack,  and  the  latter  was 
surrounded  with  cabins  built  for  the  reception  of 
the  Indians,  who  often  came  in  crowds  to  visit  the 
proprietor,  invading  his  dwelling  at  all  unseasonable 
hours,  loitering  in  the  doorways,  spreading  their 
blankets  in  the  passages,  and  infecting  the  air  with 
the  fumes  of  stale  tobacco. 

Johnson  supplied  the  place  of  his  former  love 
by  a  young  Dutch  damsel,  who  bore  him  several 
children  ;  and,  in  justice  to  them,  he  married 
her   upon    her    death-bed.      Soon    afterwards   he 


1734-1763.]  SIR  WILLIAM  JOHNSON:  91 

found  another  favorite  in  the  person  of  Molly 
Brant,  sister  of  the  celebrated  Mohawk  war-chief, 
whose  black  eyes  and  laughing  face  caught  his 
fancy,  as,  fluttering  with  ribbons,  she  galloped  past 
him  at  a  muster  of  the  Tryon  county  militia. 

Johnson's  importance  became  so  conspicuous, 
that  when  the  French  war  broke  out  in  1755,  he 
was  made  a  major  general ;  and,  soon  after,  the 
colonial  troops  under  his  command  gained  the 
battle  of  Lake  George  against  the  French  forces 
of  Baron  Dieskau.  For  this  success,  for  which 
however  he  was  entitled  to  little  credit,  he  was 
raised  to  the  rank  of  baronet,  and  rewarded  with  a 
gift  of  five  thousand  pounds  from  the  king.  About 
this  time,  he  was  appointed  superintendent  of  In- 
dian affairs  for  the  northern  tribes,  a  station  in 
which  he  did  signal  service  to  the  country.  In 
1759,  when  General  Prideaux  was  killed  by  the 
bursting  of  a  cohorn  in  the  trenches  before  Niag- 
ara, Johnson  succeeded  to  his  command,  routed  the 
French  in  another  pitched  battle,  and  soon  raised 
the  red  cross  of  England  on  the  ramparts  of  the 
fort.  After  the  peace  of  1763,  he  lived  for  many 
years  at  Johnson  Hall,  constantly  enriched  by  the 
increasing  value  of  his  vast  estate,  and  surrounded 
by  a  hardy  Highland  tenantry,  devoted  to  his  in- 
terests ;  but  when  the  tempest  which  had  long 
been  brewing  seemed  at  length  about  to  break,  and 
signs  of  a  speedy  rupture  with  the  mother  country 
thickened  with  every  day,  he  stood  wavering  in 
an  agony  of  indecision,  divided  between  his  loy- 
alty to  the  sovereign  who  was  the  source  of  all  his 


92  THE  FRENCH,  ENGLISH,  AND  INDIANS.     [1734-1774. 

honors,  and  his  reluctance  to  become  the  agent  of 
a  murderous  Indian  warfare  against  his  country- 
men and  friends.  His  final  resolution  was  never 
taken.  In  the  summer  of  1774,  he  was  attacked 
with  a  sudden  illness,  and  died  within  a  few  hours, 
in  the  sixtieth  year  of  his  age,  hurried  to  his 
grave  by  mental  distress,  or,  as  many  believed,  by 
the  act  of  his  own  hand. 

Nature  had  well  fitted  him  for  the  position  in 
which  his  propitious  stars  had  cast  his  lot.  His 
person  was  tall,  erect,  and  strong;  his  features 
grave  and  manly.  His  direct  and  upright  dealings, 
his  courage,  eloquence,  and  address,  were  sure  pass- 
ports to  favor  in  Indian  eyes.  He  had  a  singular 
facility  of  adaptation.  In  the  camp,  or  at  the 
council-board,  in  spite  of  his  defective  education, 
he  bore  himself  as  became  his  station ;  but  at 
home  he  was  seen  drinking  flip  and  smoking  to- 
bacco with  the  Dutch  boors,  his  neighbors,  and 
talking  of  improvements  or  the  price  of  beaver- 
skins  ;  while  in  the  Indian  villages  he  would  feast 
on  dog's  flesh,  dance  with  the  warriors,  and  har- 
angue his  attentive  auditors  with  all  the  dignity  of 
an  Iroquois  sachem.  His  temper  was  genial ;  he 
encouraged  rustic  sports,  and  was  respected  and 
beloved  alike  by  whites  and  Indians. 

His  good  qualities,  however,  were  alloyed  with 
serious  defects.  His  mind  was  as  coarse  as  it  was 
vigorous  ;  he  was  vain  of  his  rank  and  influence, 
and  being  quite  free  from  any  scruple  of  delicacy, 
he  lost  no  opportunity  of  proclaiming  them.  His 
nature  was  eager  and  ambitious  ;  and  in  pushing 


1734-1755.]  POSITION   OF  PARTIES.  93 

his   own  way,  he  was  never  distinguished   by  an 
anxious  sohcitude  for  the  rights  of  others.^ 

At  the  time  of  which  we  speak,  his  fortunes  had 
not  reached  their  zenith  ;  yet  his  influence  was 
great;  and  during  the  war  of  1745,  when  he  held 
the  chief  control  of  Indian  afl'airs  in  New  York, 
it  was  exercised  in  a  manner  most  beneficial  to  the 
province.  After  the  peace  of  Aix  la  Chapelle,  in 
1748,  finding  his  measures  ill  supported,  he  threw 
up  his  office  in  disgust.  Still  his  mere  personal 
influence  sufficed  to  embarrass  the  intrigues  of 
the  busy  priest  at  La  Presentation ;  and  a  few 
years  later,  when  the  public  exigency  demanded 
his  utmost  eff'orts,  he  resumed,  under  better  aus- 
pices, the  official  management  of  Indian  aff"airs. 

And  now,  when  the  blindest  could  see  that  be- 
tween the  rival  claimants  to  the  soil  of  America 
nothing  was  left  but  the  arbitration  of  the  sword, 
no  man  friendly  to  the  cause  of  England  could  ob- 
serve without  alarm  how  France  had  strengthened 
herself  in  Indian  alliances.  The  Iroquois,  it  is  true, 
had  not  quite  gone  over  to  her  side ;  nor  had  the 
Delawares  wholly  forgotten  their  ancient  league  with 
William  Penn.  The  Miamis,  too,  in  the  valley  of 
the  Ohio,  had  lately  taken  umbrage  at  the  conduct 
of  the  French,  and  betrayed  a  leaning  to  the  side  of 
England,  while  several  tribes  of  the  south  showed 
a  similar  disposition.  But,  with  few  and  slight 
exceptions,  the  numerous  tribes  of  the  great  lakes 

1  Allen,  Am.  Biog.  Diet,  and  authorities  there  referred  to.  Campbell, 
Annals  of  Tryon  County,  appendix.  Sabine,  Am.  Loyalists,  398.  Papers 
relating  to  Sir  W.  Johnson.  See  Doc.  Hist.  New  York,  II.  MS.  Papers  of 
Sir  W.  Johnson,  etc.,  etc. 


94  THE  FRENCH,  ENGLISH,  AND  INDIANS.     [1734-1755. 

and  the  Mississippi,  besides  a  host  of  domiciliated 
savages  in  Canada  itself,  stood  ready  at  the  bidding 
of  France  to  grind  their  tomahawks  and  turn  loose 
their  ravenous  war-parties  ;  while  the  British  colo- 
nists had  too  much  reason  to  fear  that  even  those 
tribes  which  seemed  most  friendly  to  their  cause, 
and  which  formed  the  sole  barrier  of  their  unpro- 
tected borders,  might,  at  the  first  sound  of  the 
war-whoop,  be  found  in  arms  against  them. 


CHAPTER    IV. 

1700-1755. 
COLLISION  OF  THE  EIVAL  COLONIES. 

The  people  of  the  northern  English  colonies  had 
learned  to  regard  their  Canadian  neighbors  with 
the  bitterest  enmity.  With  them,  the  very  name 
of  Canada  called  up  horrible  recollections  and 
ghastly  images :  the  midnight  massacre  of  Schen- 
ectady, and  the  desolation  of  many  a  New  Eng- 
land hamlet ;  blazing  dwellings  and  reeking  scalps ; 
and  children  snatched  from  their  mothers'  arms,  to 
be  immured  in  convents  and  trained  up  in  the 
abominations  of  Popery.  To  the  sons  of  the  Puri- 
tans, their  enemy  was  doubly  odious.  They  hated 
him  as  a  Frenchman,  and  they  hated  him  as  a 
Papist.  Hitherto  he  had  waged  his  '  murderous 
warfare  from  a  distance,  wasting  their  settlements 
with  rapid  onsets,  fierce  and  ti'ansient  as  a  summer 
storm  ;  but  now,  with  enterprising  audacity,  he  was 
intrenching  himself  on  their  very  borders.  The 
English  hunter,  in  the  lonely  wilderness  of  Ver- 
mont, as  by  the  warm  glow  of  sunset  he  piled  the* 
spruce  boughs  for  his  woodland  bed,  started  as  a 
deep,  low  sound  struck  faintly  on  his  ear,  the  even- 
ing gun  ot  Fort  Frederic,  booming  over  lake  and 


96  COLLISION  OF  THE  RIVAL  COLONIES.     [1700-1755. 

forest.  The  erection  of  this  fort,  better  known 
among  the  English  as  Crown  Point,  was  a  piece  of 
daring  encroachment  which  justly  kindled  resent- 
ment in  the  northern  colonies.  But  it  was  not  here 
that  the  immediate  occasion  of  a  final  rupture  was 
to  arise.  By  an  article  of  the  treaty  of  Utrecht, 
confirmed  by  that  of  Aix  la  Chapelle,  Acadia  had 
been  ceded  to  England  ;  but  scarcely  was  the  latter 
treaty  signed,  when  debates  sprang  up  touching 
the  limits  of  the  ceded  province.  Commissioners 
were  named  on  either  side  to  adjust  the  disputed 
boundary ;  but  the  claims  of  the  rival  powers  proved 
utterly  irreconcilable,  and  all  negotiation  was 
fruitless.^  Meantime,  the  French  and  English 
forces  in  Acadia  began  to  assume  a  belligerent 
attitude,  and  indulge  their  ill  blood  in  mutual  ag- 
gression and  reprisal.^  But  while  this  game  was 
played  on  the  coasts  of  the  Atlantic,  interests  of 
far  greater  ;noment  were  at  stake  in  the  west. 

The  people  of  the  middle  colonies,  placed  by 
their  local  position  beyond  reach  of  the  French, 
had  heard  with  great  composure  of  the  sufferings 
of  their  New  England  brethren,  and  felt  little  con- 
cern at  a  danger  so  doubtful  and  remote.  There 
were  those  among  them,  however,  who  with  greater 
foresight  had  been  quick  to  perceive  the  ambitious 
projects  of  the  rival  nation  ;  and,  as  early  as  1716, 
Spotswood,  governor  of  Virginia,  had  urged  the 
expediency  of  securing  the  valley  of  the  Ohio  by 

1  Garaeau,  Book  VIII.  Chap.  III. 

2  Holmes,  Annals,  II.  183.  M€inoire  contenant  Le  Precis  des  Fails, 
Pieces  Justijicatives,  Part  I. 


1748-1753.]  MISSION  OF  WASHINGTON.  97 

a  series  of  forts  and  settlements.^  His  proposal 
was  coldly  received,  and  his  plan  fell  to  the 
ground.  The  time  at  length  was  come  when  the 
danger  was  approaching  too  near  to  be  slighted 
longer.  In  1748,  an  association,  called  the  Ohio 
Company, -was  formed  with  the  view  of  making 
settlements  in  the  region  beyond  the  AUeghanies ; 
and  two  years  later.  Gist,  the  company's  surveyor, 
to  the  great  disgust  of  the  Indians,  carried  chain 
and  compass  down  the  Ohio  as  far  as  the  falls  at 
Louisville.^  But  so  dilatory  were  the  English,  that 
before  any  effectual  steps  were  taken,  their  agile 
enemies  appeared  upon  the  scene. 

In  the  spring  of  1753,  the  middle  provinces 
were  startled  at  the  tidings  that  French  troops  had 
crossed  Lake  Erie,  fortified  themselves  at  the  point 
of  Presqu'-Isle,  and  pushed  forward  to  the  northern 
branches  of  the  Ohio.^  Upon  this,  Governor  Din- 
widdle, of  Virginia,  resolved  to  despatch  a  message 
requiring  their  removal  from  territories  which  he 
claimed  as  belonging  to  the  British  crown;  and 
looking  about  him  for  the  person  best  qualified  to 
act  as  messenger,  he  made  choice  of  George  Wash- 
ington, a  young  man  twenty-one  years  of  age,  adju- 
tant general  of  the  Virginian  militia. 

Washington  departed  on  his  mission,  crossed  the 
mountains,  descended  to  the  bleak  and  leafless 
valley  of  the  Ohio,  and  thence  continued  his  jour- 

1  Smollett,  III.  370  (Edinburgh,  1805). 

2  Sparks's  Life  and  Writings  of  Washington,  II.  478.     Gist's  Journal. 

3  Olden  Time,  II.  9,  10.  This  excellent  antiquarian  publication  con- 
tains documents  relating  to  this  period  which  are  not  to  be  found  else- 
where. 

7 


98  COLLISION  OF  THE  RIVAL  COLONIES.         [1754. 

ney  up  the  banks  of  the  Alleghany  until  the  fourth 
of  December.  On  that  day  he  reached  Venango, 
an  Indian  town  on  the  Alleghany,  at  the  mouth  of 
French  Creek.  Here  was  the  advanced  post  of  the 
French  ;  and  here,  among  the  Indian  log-cabins  and 
huts  of  bark,  he  saw  their  flag  flying  above  the 
house  of  an  English  trader,  whom  the  military 
intruders  had  unceremoniously  ejected.  They  gave 
the  young  envoy  a  hospitable  reception,^  and  referred 
him  to  the  commanding  officer,  whose  headquarters 
were  at  Le  Bceuf,  a  fort  which  they  had  just  built 
on  French  Creek,  some  distance  above  Venango. 
Thither  Washington  repaired,  and  on  his  arrival 
was  received  with  stately  courtesy  by  the  officer, 
Legardeur  de  St.  Pierre,  whom  he  describes  as  an 
elderly  gentleman  of  very  soldier-like  appearance. 
To  the  message  of  Dinwiddle,  St.  Pierre  replied 
that  he  would  forward  it  to  the  governor  general 
of  Canada ;  but  that,  in  the  mean  time,  his  orders 
were  to  hold  possession  of  the  country,  and  this  he 
should  do  to  the  best  of  his  ability.  With  this 
answer  Washington,  through  all  the  rigors  of  the 


1  "  He  invited  us  to  sup  with  them,  and  treated  us  with  the  greatest 
complaisance.  The  wine,  as  they  dosed  themselves  pretty  plentifully 
with  it,  soon  banished  the  restraint  which  at  first  appeared  in  their  con- 
versation, and  gave  a  license  to  their  tongues  to  reveal  their  sentiments 
more  treely.  They  told  me  that  it  was  their  absolute  design  to  take  pos- 
session of  the  Ohio,  and  by  G — d  they  would  do  it ;  for  that,  although 
they  were  sensible  the  Enghsh  could  raise  two  men  for  their  one,  yet  they 
knew  their  motions  were  too  slow  and  dilatory  to  prevent  any  under- 
taking of  theirs.  They  pretend  to  have  an  undoubted  right  to  the  river 
from  a  discovery  made  by  one  La  Salle,  sixty  years  ago ;  and  the  rise  of 
this  expedition  is,  to  prevent  our  settling  on  the  river  or  waters  of  it,  as 
they  heard  of  some  families  moving  out  in  order  thereto."  —  Washington, 
Journal. 


1754.]  DEATH   OF  JUMONVILLE.  99 

midwinter  forest,  retraced  his  steps,  with  one  attend- 
ant, to  the  Enghsh  borders. 

With  the  first  opening  of  spring,  a  newly  raised 
company  of  Virginian  backwoodsmen,  under  Cap- 
tain Trent,  hastened  across  the  mountains,  and 
began  to  build  a  fort  at  the  confluence  of  the 
Monongahela  and  Alleghany,  where  Pittsburg  now 
stands ;  when  suddenly  they  found  themselves 
invested  by  a  host  of  French  and  Indians,  who, 
with  sixty  bateaux  and  three  hundred  canoes,  had 
descended  from  Le  Boeuf  and  Venango.^  The 
English  were  ordered  to  evacuate  the  spot ;  and, 
being  quite  unable  to  resist,  they  obeyed  the  sum- 
mons, and  withdrew  in  great  discomfiture  towards 
Virginia.  Meanwhile  Washington,  with  another 
party  of  backwoodsmen,  was  advancing  from  the 
borders ;  and,  hearing  of  Trent's  disaster,  he 
resolved  to  fortify  himself  on  the  Monongahela, 
and  hold  his  ground,  if  possible,  until  fresh  troops 
could  arrive  to  support  him.  The  French  sent  out 
a  scouting  party  under  M.  Jumonville,  with  the 
design,  probably,  of  watching  his  movements  ;  but, 
on  a  dark  and  stormy  night,  Washington  surprised 
them,  as  they  lay  lurking  in  a  rocky  glen  not  far 
from  his  camp,  killed  the  officer,  and  captured  the 
whole  detachment.^  Learning  that  the  French, 
enraged  by  this  reverse,  were  about  to  attack  him 
in  great  force,  he  thought  it  prudent  to  fall  back, 
and  retired  accordingly  to  a  spot  called  the  Great 

1  Sparks,  Life  and  Writings  of  Washington,  II.  6. 

2  Sparks,  II.  447.  The  conduct  of  Washington  in  this  affair  is 
regarded  by  French  writers  as  a  stain  on  his  memorj. 


100  COLLISION   OF   THE   RIVAL   COLONIES.  [1754. 

Meadows,  where  he  had  before  thrown  up  a  slight 
intrenchment.  Here  he  found  himself  assailed  by 
nine  hundred  French  and  Indians,  commanded  by 
a  brother  of  the  slain  Jumonville.  From  eleven  in 
the  morning  till  eight  at  night,  the  backwoodsmen,- 
who  were  half  famished  from  the  failure  of  their 
stores,  maintained  a  stubborn  defence,  some  fight- 
ing within  the  intrenchment,  and  some  on  the  plain 
without.  In  the  evening,  the  French  sounded  a 
parley,  and  offered  terms.  They  were  accepted, 
and  on  the  following  day  Washington  and  his  men 
retired  across  the  mountains,  leaving  the  disputed 
territory  in  the  hands  of  the  French.^ 

While  the  rival  nations  were  beginning  to  quarrel 
for  a  prize  which  belonged  to  neither  of  them,  the 
unhappy  Indians  saw,  with  alarm  and  amazement, 
their  lands  becoming  a  bone  of  contention  between 
rapacious  strangers.  The  first  appearance  of  the 
French  on  the  Ohio  excited  the  wildest  fears  in  the 
tribes  of  that  quarter,  among  whom  were  those 
who,  disgusted  by  the  encroachments  of  the  Penn- 
sylvanians,  had  fled  to  these  remote  retreats  to 
escape  the  intrusions  of  the  white  men.  Scarcely 
was  their  fancied  asylum  gained,  when  they  saw 
themselves  invaded  by  a  host  of  armed  men  from 
Canada.  Thus  placed  between  two  fires,  they  knew 
not  which  way  to  turn.  There  was  no  union  in 
their  counsels,  and  they  seemed  like  a  mob  of  bewil- 


1  For  the  French  account  of  these  operations,  see  M^moire  contenant  le 
Precis  des  Fails.  This  volume,  an  official  pubUcation  of  the  French 
court,  contains  numerous  documents,  among  which  are  the  papers  of  the 
unfortunate  Braddock,  left  on  the  field  of  battle  by  his  defeated  army. 


1754.]  FRENCH  AND   ENGLISH  DIPLOMACY.  101 

dered  children.  Their  native  jealousy  was  roused 
to  its  utmost  pitch.  Many  of  them  thought  that 
the  two  white  nations  had  conspired  to  destroy 
them,  and  then  divide  their  lands.  "  You  and  the 
French,"  said  one  of  them,  a  few  years  afterwards, 
to  an  English  emissary,  "  are  like  the  two  edges  of 
a  pair  of  shears,  and  we  are  the  cloth  which  is  cut 
to  pieces  between  them."  ^ 

The  French  labored  hard  to  conciliate  them,  ply- 
ing them  with  gifts  and  flatteries,^  and  proclaiming 
themselves  their  champions  against  the  English. 
At  first,  these  arts  seemed  in  vain,  but  their  effect 
soon  began  to  declare  itself;  and  this  effect  was 
greatly  increased  by  a  singular  piece  of  infatuation 
on  the  part  of  the  proprietors  of  Pennsylvania. 
During  the  summer  of  1754,  delegates  of  the  sev- 
eral provinces  met  at  Albany,  to  concert  measures 
of  defence  in  the  war  which  now  seemed  inevitable. 
It  was  at  this  meeting  that  the  memorable  plan  of 
a  union  of  the  colonies  was  brought  forward;  a 
plan,  the  fate  of  which  was  curious  and  significant, 
for  the  crown  rejected  it  as  giving  too  much  power 
to  the  people,  and  the  people  as  giving  too  much 

1  First  Journal  of  C.  F.  Post. 

2  Letters  of  Robert  Stobo,  an  English  hostage  at  Fort  du  Quesne. 

"  Shamokin  Daniel,  who  came  with  me,  went  over  to  the  fort  [du 
Quesne]  by  himself,  and  counselled  with  the  governor,  who  presented 
him  with  a  laced  coat  and  hat,  a  blanket,  shirts,  ribbons,  a  new  gun,  pow- 
der, lead,  &c.  When  he  returned  he  was  quite  changed,  and  said,  '  See 
here,  you  fools,  what  the  French  have  given  me.  I  was  in  Philadelphia, 
and  never  received  a  farthing  ; '  and  (directing  himself  to  me)  said,  '  The 
EngUsh  are  fools,  and  so  are  you.'"  —  Post,  First  Journal. 

Washington,  while  at  Fort  Le  Boeuf,  was  much  annoyed  by  the  con- 
duct of  the  French,  who  did  their  utmost  to  seduce  his  Indian  escort  by 
bribes  and  promises. 


102  COLLISION  OF  THE   RIVAL   COLONIES.  [1756. 

power  to  the  crown.-^  A  council  was  also  held  with 
the  Iroquois,  and  though  they  were  found  but  luke- 
warm in  their  attachment  to  the  English,  a  treaty 
of  friendship  and  alliance  was  concluded  with  their 
deputies.^  It  would  have  been  well  if  the  matter 
had  ended  here ;  but,  with  ill-timed  rapacity,  the 
proprietary  agents  of  Pennsylvania  took  advantage 
of  this  great  assemblage  of  sachems  to  procure 
from  them  the  grant  of  extensive  tracts,  including 
the  lands  inhabited  by  the  very  tribes  whom  the 
French  were  at  that  moment  striving  to  seduce.^ 
AVhen  they  heard  that,  without  their  consent,  their 
conquerors  and  tyrants,  the  Iroquois,  had  sold  the 
soil  from  beneath  their  feet,  their  indignation  was 
extreme  ;  and,  convinced  that  there  was  no  limit  to 
English  encroachment,  many  of  them  from  that 
hour  became  fast  allies  of  the  French. 

The  courts  of  London  and  Versailles  still  main- 
tained a  diplomatic  intercourse,  both  protesting 
their  earnest  wish  that  their  conflicting  claims  might 
be  adjusted  by  friendly  negotiation  ;  but  while  each 
disclaimed  the  intention  of  hostility,  both  were 
hastening  to  prepare  for  war.  Early  in  1755,  an 
English  fleet  sailed  from  Cork,  having  on  board 
two  regiments  destined  for  Virginia,  and  commanded 
by  General  Braddock ;  and   soon   after,  a  French 

1  Trumbull,  Hkt.  Conn.  II.  355.     Holmes,  Annals,  II.  201. 

2  At  this  council  an  Iroquois  sachem  upbraided  tlie  English,  with  great 
boldness,  for  their  neglect  of  the  Indians,  their  invasion  of  their  lands,  and 
their  dilatory  conduct  with  regard  to  the  French,  who,  as  the  speaker 
averred,  had  behaved  like  men  and  warriors.  —  Minutes  of  Conferences  at 
Albany,  1754. 

^  Causes  of  the  Alienation  of  the  Delaware  and  Shawanoe  Indians  from  the 
British  Interest,  77. 


1755.]  THE  WAR  IN  EUROPE  AND  AMERICA.  103 

fleet  put  to  sea  from  the  port  of  Brest,  freighted 
with  munitions  of  war  and  a  strong  body  of  troops 
under  Baron  Dieskau,  an  officer  who  had  distin- 
guished himself  in  the  campaigns  of  Marshal  Saxe. 
The  English  fleet  gained  its  destination,  and  landed 
its  troops  in  safety.  The  French  were  less  fortu- 
nate. Two  of  their  ships,  the  Lys  and  the  Alcide, 
became  involved  in  the  fogs  of  the  banks  of  New- 
foundland ;  and  when  the  weather  cleared,  they 
found  themselves  under  the  guns  of  a  superior  Brit- 
ish force,  belonging  to  the  squadron  of  Admiral 
Boscawen,  sent  out  for  the  express  purpose  of 
intercepting  them.  "  Are  we  at  peace  or  war  i  " 
demanded  the  French  commander.  A  broadside 
from  the  Englishman  soon  solved  his  doubts,  and 
after  a  stout  resistance  the  French  struck  their 
colors.^  News  of  the  capture  caused  great  excite- 
ment in  England,  but  the  conduct  of  the  aggres- 
sors was  generally  approved ;  and  under  pretence 
that  the  French  had  begun  the  war  by  their  alleged 
encroachments  in  America,  orders  were  issued  for 
a  general  attack  upon  their  marine.  So  successful 
were  the  British  cruisers,  that,  before  the  end  of 
the  year,  three  hundred  French  vessels  and  nearly 
eight  thousand  sailors  were  captured  and  brought 
into  port.^     The  French,  unable  to  retort  in  kind, 


1  Garneau,  II.  551.     Gent,  Mag.  XXV.  330. 

2  SmoUett,  III.  436. 

"  The  French  inveighed  against  the  capture  of  their  ships,  before  any 
declaration  of  war,  as  flagrant  acts  of  piracy  ;  and  some  neutral  powers  of 
Europe  seemed  to  consider  them  in  the  same  point  of  view.  It  was  cer- 
tainly high  time  to  check  the  insolence  of  the  French  by  force  of  arms ; 
and  surely  this  might  have  been  as  eflectually  and  expeditiously  exerted 


104  COLLISION   OF  THE  RIVAL   COLONIES.  [1755. 

raised  an  outcry  of  indignation,  and  Mirepoix  their 
ambassador  withdrew  from  the  court  of  London. 

Thus  began  that  memorable  war  which,  kindhng 
among  the  forests  of  America,  scattered  its  fires 
over  the  kingdoms  of  Europe,  and  the  sultry  empire 
of  the  Great  Mogul ;  the  war  made  glorious  by 
the  heroic  death  of  Wolfe,  the  victories  of  Fred- 
eric, and  the  exploits  of  Clive  ;  the  war  which 
controlled  the  destinies  of  America,  and  was  first 
in  the  chain  of  events  which  led  on  to  her  Eevo- 
lution  with  all  its  vast  and  undeveloped  conse- 
quences. On  the  old  battle-ground  of  Europe,  the 
contest  bore  the  same  familiar  features  of  violence 
and  horror  which  had  marked  the  strife  of  former 
generations  —  fields  ploughed  by  the  cannon  ball, 
and  walls  shattered  by  the  exploding  mine,  sacked 
towns  and  blazing  suburbs,  the  lamentations  of 
women,  and  the  license  of  a  maddened  soldiery. 
But  in  America,  war  assumed  a  new  and  striking 
aspect.  A  wilderness  was  its  sublime  arena.  Army 
met  army  under  the  shadows  of  primeval  woods  ; 
their  cannon  resounded  over  wastes  unknown  to 
civilized  man.  And  before  the  hostile  powers 
could  join  in  battle,  endless  forests  must  be  trav- 
ersed, and  morasses  passed,  and  everywhere  the 
axe  of  the  pioneer  must  hew  a  path  for  the  bayonet 
of  the  soldier. 

Before  the  declaration  of  war,  and  before  the 
breaking  off"  of  negotiations  between  the  courts  of 

under  the  usual  sanction  of  a  formal  declaration,  the  omission  of  which 
exposed  the  administration  to  the  censure  of  our  neighbors,  and  fixed  the 
imputation  of  fraud  and  freebooting  on  the  beginning  of  the  war."  — 
Smollett,  III.  481.     See  also  Mahon,  Hist.  England,  IV.  72. 


1755.]        THE  WAR  IN  EUROPE   AND  AMERICA.  105 

France  and  England,  the  English  ministry  formed 
the  plan  of  assailing  the  French  in  America  on  all 
sides  at  once,  and  repelling  them,  by  one  bold  push, 
from  all  their  encroachments.^  A  provincial  army 
was  to  advance  upon  Acadia,  a  second  was  to 
attack  Crown  Point,  and  a  third  Niagara ;  while 
the  two  regiments  which  had  lately  arrived  in  Vir- 
ginia under  General  Braddock,  aided  by  a  strong 
body  of  provincials,  were  to  dislodge  the  French 
from  their  newly-built  fort  of  Du  Quesne.  To 
Braddock  was  assigned  the  chief  command  of  all 
the  British  forces  in  ximerica ;  and  a  person  worse 
fitted  for  the  office  could  scarcely  have  been  found. 
His  experience  had  been  ample,  and  none  could 
doubt  his  courage  ;  but  he  was  profligate,  arro- 
gant, perverse,  and  a  bigot  to  military  rules. ^     On 

1  Instructions  of  General  Braddock.     See  Precis  des  Fails,  160,  168. 

2  The  following  is  Horace  Walpole's  testimony,  and  writers  of  better 
authority  have  expressed  themselves,  with  less  liveliness  and  piquancy, 
to  the  same  effect :  — 

"  Braddock  is  a  very  Iroquois  in  disposition.  He  had  a  sister,  who, 
having  gamed  away  all  her  little  fortune  at  Bath,  hanged  herself  with  a 
truly  English  deliberation,  leaving  only  a  note  upon  the  table  with  those 
lines,  '  To  die  is  landing  on  some  silent  shore,'  &c.  When  Braddock  was 
told  of  it,  he  only  said,  '  Poor  Fanny  !  I  always  thought  she  would  play 
till  she  would  be  forced  to  tack  herself  up.'  " 

Here  follows  a  curious  anecdote  of  Braddock's  meanness  and  profligacy, 
which  I  omit.  The  next  is  more  to  his  credit.  "  He  once  had  a  duel  with 
Colonel  Gumley,  Lady  Bath's  brother,  who  had  been  his  great  friend.  As 
they  were  going  to  engage,  Gumley,  who  had  good  humor  and  wit  (Brad- 
dock had  the  latter),  said,  '  Braddock,  you  are  a  poor  dog  !  Here,  take  my 
purse.  If  you  kill  me,  you  will  be  forced  to  run  away,  and  then  you  will 
not  have  a  shiUing  to  support  you.*  Braddock  refused  the  purse,  insisted 
on  the  duel,  was  disarmed,  and  would  not  even  ask  his  life.  However, 
with  all  his  brutality,  he  has  lately  been  governor  of  Gibraltar,  where 
he  made  himself  adored,  and  where  scarce  any  governor  was  endured 
before."— Letters fo  Sir  H.  Mann,  CCLXV.  CCLXVI. 

Washington's  opinion  of  Braddock  may  be  gathered  from  his  Writings, 
11.  77. 


106  COLLISION   OF   THE   RIVAL   COLONIES.  [1755. 

his  first  arrival  in  Virginia,  he  called  together  the 
governors  of  the  several  provinces,  in  order  to 
explain  his  instructions  and  adjust  the  details  of 
the  projected  operations.  These  arrangements 
complete,  Braddock  advanced  to  the  borders  of 
Virginia,  and  formed  his  camp  at  Fort  Cumberland, 
where  he  spent  several  weeks  in  training  the  raw 
backwoodsmen,  who  joined  him,  into  such  disci- 
pline as  they  seemed  capable  of;  in  collecting 
horses  and  wagons,  which  could  only  be  had  with 
the  utmost  difficulty;  in  railing  at  the  contractors, 
who  scandalously  cheated  him ;  and  in  venting  his 
spleen  by  copious  abuse  of  the  country  and  the 
people.  All  at  length  was  ready,  and  early  in 
June,  1755,  the  army  left  civilization  behind,  and 
struck  into  the  broad  wilderness  as  a  squadron  puts 
out  to  sea. 

It  was  no  easy  task  to  force  their  way  over  that 
rugged  ground,  covered  with  an  unbroken  growth 
of  forest ;  and  the  difficulty  was  increased  by  the 
needless  load  of  baggage  which  encumbered  their 
march.  The  crash  of  falling  trees  resounded  in 
the  front,  where  a  hundred  axemen  labored  with 
ceaseless  toil  to  hew  a  passage  for  the  army.^ 
The  horses  strained  their  utmost  strength  to  drag 
the  ponderous  wagons  over  roots  and  stumps, 
through  gullies  and  quagmires ;  and  the  regular 
troops  were  daunted  by  the  depth  and  gloom  of 
the  forest  w^hich  hedged  them  in  on  either  hand, 
and  closed  its  leafy  arches  above  their  heads.  So 
tedious  was  their  progress,  that,  by  the  advice  of 

1  MS.  Diary  of  the  Expedition,  in  the  British  Museum. 


1755.]  MARCH  OF  BRADDOCK.  107 

Washington,  twelve  hundred  chosen  men  moved 
on  in  advance  with  the  lighter  baggage  and  artil- 
lery, leaving  the  rest  of  the  army  to  follow,  by 
slower  stages,  with  the  heavy  wagons.  On  the 
eighth  of  July,  the  advanced  body  reached  the 
Monongahela,  at  a  point  not  far  distant  from  Fort 
du  Quesne.  The  rocky  and  impracticable  ground 
on  the  eastern  side  debarred  their  passage,  and  the 
general  resolved  to  cross  the  river  in  search  of  a 
smoother  path,  and  recross  it  a  few  miles  lower 
down,  in  order  to  gain  the  fort.  The  first  passage 
was  easily  made,  and  the  troops  moved,  in  glitter- 
ing array,  down  the  western  margin  of  the  water, 
rejoicing  that  their  goal  was  well  nigh  reached, 
and  the  hour  of  their  expected  triumph  close  at 
hand. 

Scouts  and  Indian  runners  had  brought  the  tid- 
ings of  Braddock's  approach  to  the  French  at  Fort 
du  Quesne.  Their  dismay  was  great,  and  Contre- 
coeur,  the  commander,  thought  only  of  retreat ; 
when  Beaujeu,  a  captain  in  the  garrison,  made  the 
bold  proposal  of  leading  out  a  party  of  French 
and  Indians  to  waylay  the  English  in  the  woods, 
and  harass  or  interrupt  their  march.  The  offer 
was  accepted,  and  Beaujeu  hastened  to  the  Indian 
camps. 

Around  the  fort  and  beneath  the  adjacent  forest 
were  the  bark  lodges  of  savage  hordes,  whom  the 
French  had  mustered  from  far  and  near ;  Ojibwas 
and  Ottawas,  Hurons  and  Caughnawagas,  Abena- 
kis  and  Delawares.  Beaujeu  called  the  warriors 
together,  flung  a  hatchet  on  the   ground   before 


108  COLLISION  OF  THE  RIVAL  COLONIES.  [1755. 

them,  and  invited  them  to  follow  him  out  to  battle  ; 
but  the  boldest  stood  aghast  at  the  peril,  and  none 
would  accept  the  challenge.  A  second  interview 
took  place  with  no  better  success  ;  but  the  French- 
man was  resolved  to  carry  his  point.  "  I  am  de- 
termined to  go,"  he  exclaimed.  "  What,  will  you 
suffer  your  father  to  go  alone  ] "  ^  His  daring 
proved  contagious.  The  warriors  hesitated  no 
longer ;  and  when,  on  the  morning  of  the  ninth 
of  July,  a  scout  ran  in  with  the  news  that  the 
English  army  was  but  a  few  miles  distant,  the  In- 
dian camps  were  at  once  astir  with  the  turmoil  of 
preparation.  Chiefs  harangued  their  yelling  fol- 
lowers, braves  bedaubed  themselves  with  war-paint, 
smeared  themselves  with  grease,  hung  feathers  in 
their  scalp-locks,  and  whooped  and  stamped  till 
they  had  wrought  themselves  into  a  delirium  of 
valor. 

That  morning,  James  Smith,  an  English  prisoner 
recently  captured  on  the  frontier  of  Pennsylvania, 
stood  on  the  rampart,  and  saw  the  half-frenzied 
multitude  thronging  about  the  gateway,  where  kegs 
of  bullets  and  gunpowder  were  broken  open,  that 
each  might  help  himself  at  will.^  Then  band  after 
band  hastened  away  towards  the  forest,  followed 
and  supported  by  nearly  two  hundred  and  fifty 
French   and  Canadians,  commanded    by   Beaujeu. 

1  Sparks's  Life  and  Writings  of  Washington,  II.  473.  I  am  indebted  to 
the  kindness  of  President  Sparks  for  copies  of  several  French  manuscripts, 
which  throw  much  light  on  the  incidents  of  the  battle.  These  manu- 
scripts are  alluded  to  in  the  Life  and  Writings  of  Washington. 

2  Smith's  Narrative.  This  interesting  account  has  been  several  times 
published.    It  may  be  found  in  Drake's  Tragedies  of  the  Wilderness. 


1755.]  THE   AMBUSCADE.  109 

There  were  the  Ottawas,  led  on,  it  is  said,  by  the 
remarkable  man  whose  name  stands  on  the  title- 
page  of  this  history ;  there  were  the  Hnrons  of 
Lorette  under  their  chief,  whom  the  French  called 
Athanase,^  and  many  more,  all  keen  as  hounds  on 
the  scent  of  blood.  At  about  nine  miles  from  the 
fort,  they  reached  a  spot  where  the  narrow  road 
descended  to  the  river  through  deep  and  gloomy 
woods,  and  where  two  ravines,  concealed  by  trees 
and  bushes,  seemed  formed  by  nature  for  an  am- 
buscade. Beaujeau  well  knew  the  ground ;  and  it 
was  here  that  he  had  resolved  to  fight ;  but  he  and 
his  followers  were  well  nigh  too  late ;  for  as  they 
neared  the  ravines,  the  woods  were  resounding 
with  the  roll  of  the  British  drums. 

It  was  past  noon  of  a  day  brightened  with  the 
clear  sunlight  of  an  American  midsummer,  when 
the  forces  of  Braddock  began,  for  a  second  time, 
to  cross  the  Monongahela,  at  the  fording-place, 
which  to  this  day  bears  the  name  of  their  ill-fated 
leader.  The  scarlet  columns  of  the  British  regu- 
lars, complete  in  martial  appointment,  the  rude 
backwoodsmen  with  shouldered  rifles,  the  trains  of 
artillery  and  the  white-topped  wagons,  moved  on 
in  long  procession  through  the  shallow  current, 
and  slowly  mounted  the   opposing  bank.^      Men 

1  "  Went  to  Lorette,  an  Indian  village  about  eight  miles  from  Quebec. 
Saw  the  Indians  at  mass,  and  heard  them  sing  psalms  tolerably  well  —  a 
dance.  Got  well  acquainted  with  Athanase,  who  was  commander  of  the 
Indians  who  defeated  General  Braddock,  in  1756  —  a  very  sensible  fel- 
low."—  MS.  Journal  of  an  English  Gentleman  on  a  Tour  through  Canada,  in 
1765. 

2  "  My  feelings  were  heightened  by  the  warm  and  glowing  narration 
of  that  day's  events,  by  Dr.  Walker,  who  was  aja  eye-witness.    He  pointed 


110  COLLISION   OF   THE   RIVAL   COLONIES.  [1755. 

were  there  whose  names  have  become  historic : 
Gage,  who,  twenty  years  later,  saw  his  routed 
battalions  recoil  in  disorder  from  before  the  breast- 
work on  Bunker  Hill ;  Gates,  the  future  conqueror 
of  Burgoyne  ;  and  one  destined  to  a  higher  fame, 
—  George  Washington,  a  boy  in  years,  a  man  in 
calm  thought  and  self-ruling  wisdom. 

With  steady  and  well  ordered  march,  the  troops 
advanced  into  the  great  labyrinth  of  woods  which 
shadowed  the  eastern  borders  of  the  river.  Rank 
after  rank  vanished  from  sight.  The  forest  swal- 
lowed them  up,  and  the  silence  of  the  wilderness 
sank  down  once  more  on  the  shores  and  waters  of 
the  Monongahela. 

Several  engineers  and  guides  and  six  light  horse- 
men led  the  way  ;  a  body  of  grenadiers  under  Gage 
was  close  behind,  and  the  army  followed  in  such 
order  as  the  rough  ground  would  permit,  along  a 
narrow  road,  twelve  feet  wide,  tunnelled  through 
the  dense  and  matted  foliage.  There  were  flank- 
ing parties  on  either  side,  but  no  scouts  to  scour 
the  woods  in  front,  and  with  an  insane  confidence 
Braddock  pressed  on  to  meet  his  fate.  The  van 
had  passed  the  low  grounds  that  bordered  the  river, 
and  were  now  ascending  a  gently  rising  ground, 
where,  on  either  hand,  hidden  by  thick  trees,  by 

out  the  ford  where  the  army  crossed  the  Monongahela  (below  Turtle 
Creek,  800  yards).  A  finer  sight  could  not  have  been  beheld, — the 
shining  barrels  of  the  muskets,  the  excellent  order  of  the  men,  the  clean- 
liness of  their  appearance,  the  joy  depicted  on  every  face  at  being  so  near 
Fort  du  Quesne  —  the  highest  object  of  their  wishes.  The  music  re- 
echoed through  the  hills.  How  brilliant  the  morning  —  how  melancholy 
the  evening!"  —  Letter  of  Judge  YecUes,  dated  August,  1776.  See  Haz., 
Pa.  Reg.,  VI.  104. 


1755.]  BKADDOCKS   DEFEAT.  Ill 

tangled  undergrowth  and  rank  grasses,  lay  the  two 
fatal  ravmes.  Suddenly,  Gordon,  an  engineer  in 
advance,  saw  the  French  and  Indians  bounding 
forward  through  the  forest  and  along  the  narrow 
track,  Beaujeau  leading  them  on,  dressed  in  a  fringed 
hunting-sliirt,  and  wearing  a  silver  gorget  on  his 
breast.  He  stopped,  turned,  and  waved  his  hat, 
and  his  French  followers,  crowding  across  the  road, 
opened  a  murderous  fire  upon  the  head  of  the 
British  column,  while,  screeching  their  war-cries, 
the  Indians  thronged  into  the  ravines,  or  crouched 
behind  rocks  and  trees  on  both  flanks  of  the  advan- 
cing troops.  The  astonished  grenadiers  returned 
the  fire,  and  returned  it  with  good  efi'ect ;  for  a 
random  shot  struck  down  the  brave  Beaujeau,  and 
the  courage  of  the  assailants  was  staggered  by  his 
fall.  Dumas,  second  in  command,  rallied  them  to 
the  attack  ;  and  while  he,  with  the  French  and 
Canadians,  made  good  the  pass  in  front,  the  Indians 
from  their  lurking  places  opened  a  deadly  fire  on 
the  right  and  left.  In  a  few  moments,  all  was 
confusion.  The  advance  guard  fell  back  on  the 
main  body,  and  every  trace  of  subordination  van- 
ished. The  fire  soon  extended  along  the  whole 
length  of  the  army,  from  front  to  rear.  Scarce 
an  enemy  could  be  seen,  though  the  forest  re- 
sounded with  their  yells  ;  though  every  bush  and 
tree  was  alive  with  incessant  flashes ;  though  the 
lead  flew  like  a  hailstorm,  and  the  men  went  down 
by  scores.  The  regular  troops  seemed  bereft  of 
their  senses.  They  huddled  together  in  the  road 
like  flocks  of  sheep  ;  and  happy  did  he  think  him- 


112  COLLISION  OF  THE  RIVAL  COLONIES.  [1755 

self  who  could  wedge  his  way  into  the  midst  of 
the  crowd,  and  place  a  barrier  of  human  flesh 
between  his  life  and  the  shot  of  the  ambushed 
marksmen.  Many  were  seen  eagerly  loading  their 
muskets,  and  then  firing  them  into  the  air,  or  shoot- 
ing their  own  comrades  in  the  insanity  of  their 
terror.  The  officers,  for  the  most  part,  displayed  a 
conspicuous  gallantry ;  but  threats  and  commands 
were  wasted  alike  on  the  panic-stricken  multitude. 
It  is  said  that  at  the  outset  Braddock  showed  signs 
of  fear  ;  but  he  soon  recovered  his  wonted  intre- 
pidity. Five  horses  were  shot  under  him,  and  five 
times  he  mounted  afresh.^  He  stormed  and  shouted, 
and,  while  the  Virginians  were  fighting  to  good 
purpose,  each  man  behind  a  tree,  like  the  Indians 
themselves,  he  ordered  them  with  furious  menace 
to  form  in  platoons,  where  the  fire  of  the  enemy 
mowed  them  down  like  grass.  At  length,  a  mortal 
shot  silenced  him,  and  two  provincials  bore  him 
off  the  field.  Washington  rode  through  the  tumult 
calm  and  undaunted.  Two  horses  were  killed 
under  him,  and  four  bullets  pierced  his  clothes  ;  ^ 
but  his  hour  was  not  come,  and  he  escaped  with- 
out a  wound.  Gates  was  shot  through  the  body, 
and  Gage  also  was  severely  wounded.  Of  eighty- 
six  officers,  only  twenty- three  remained  unhurt ; 
and  of  twelve  hundred  soldiers  who  crossed  the 
Monongahela,  more  than  seven  hundred  were  killed 
and  wounded.  None  suffered  more  severely  than 
the  Virginians,  who  had  displayed  throughout    a 

1  Letter  —  Captain  Orme,  his  aide-de-camp,  to ,  July  18. 

2  Sparks,  I.  67. 


1755.J  RESULTS   OF  BRADDOCK'S  DEFEAT.  113 

degree  of  courage  and  steadiness  which  put  the 
cowardice  of  the  regulars  to  shame.  The  havoc 
among  them  was  terrible,  for  of  their  whole  num- 
ber scarcely  one-fifth  left  the  field  alive. ^ 

The  slaughter  lasted  three  hours ;  when,  at 
length,  the  survivors,  as  if  impelled  by  a  general 
impulse,  rushed  tumultously  from  the  place  of  car- 
nage, and  with  dastardly  precipitation  fled  across 
the  Monongahela.  The  enemy  did  not  pursue 
beyond  the  river,  flocking  back  to  the  field  to  col- 
lect the  plunder,  and  gather  a  rich  harvest  of  scalps. 
The  routed  troops  pursued  their  flight  until  they 
met  the  rear  division  of  the  army,  under  Colonel 
Dunbar ;  and  even  then  their  senseless  terrors  did 
not  abate.  Dunbar's  soldier's  caught  the  infection. 
Cannon,  baggage,  provisions  and  wagons  were  des- 
troyed, and  all  fled  together,  eager  to  escape  from 
the  shadows  of  those  awful  woods,  whose  horrors 
haunted  their  imagination.  They  passed  the 
defenceless  settlements  of  the  border,  and  hurried 
on  to  Philadelphia,  leaving  the  unhappy  people  to 
defend  themselves  as  they  might  against  the  toma^ 
hawk  and  scalping-knife. 

The  calamities  of  this  disgraceful  rout  did  not 

1  "  The  Virginia  troops  showed  a  good  deal  of  bravery,  a;id  were 
nearly  all  killed ;  for  I  believe,  out  of  three  companies  that  were  there, 
scarcely  thirty  men  are  left  ahve  Captain  Peyrouny,  and  aU  his  officers, 
down  to  a  corporal,  were  killed.  Captain  Poison  had  nearly  as  hard  a 
fate,  for  only  one  of  his  was  left.  In  short,  the  dastardly  behavior  of  those 
they  call  regulars  exposed  all  others,  that  were  inclined  to  do  their  duty, 
to  almost  certain  death ;  and  at  last,  in  despite  of  all  the  efforts  of  the 
officers  to  the  contrary,  they  ran,  as  sheep  pursued  by  dogs,  and  it  was 
impossible  to  rally  them." —  Writings  of  Washington,  II.  87. 

The  English  themselves  bore  reluctant  testimony  to  the  good  conduct 
of  the  Virginians.  —  See  Entick,  Hist.  Late  War,  147. 

8 


114  COLLISION  OF  THE  RIVAL   COLONIES.  [1755. 

cease  with  the  loss  of  a  few  hundred  soldiers  on 
the  field  of  battle ;  for  it  brought  upon  the  prov- 
inces all  the  miseries  of  an  Indian  war.  Those 
among  the  tribes  who  had  thus  far  stood  neutral, 
wavering  between  the  French  and  English,  now 
hesitated  no  longer.  Many  of  them  had  been  dis- 
gusted by  the  contemptuous  behavior  of  Braddock. 
All  had  learned  to  despise  the  courage  of  the 
English,  and  to  regard  their  own  prowess  with 
unbounded  complacency.  It  is  not  in  Indian 
nature  to  stand  quiet  in  the  midst  of  war ;  and 
the  defeat  of  Braddock  was  a  signal  for  the 
western  savages  to  snatch  their  tomahawks  and 
assail  the  English  settlements  with  one  accord, 
murdering  and  pillaging  with  ruthless  fury,  and 
turning  the  frontier  of  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia 
into  one  wide  scene  of  havoc  and  desolation. 

The  three  remaining  expeditions  which  the 
British  ministry  had  planned  for  that  year's  cam- 
paign were  attended  with  various  results.  Acadia 
was  quickly  reduced  by  the  forces  of  Colonel 
Monkton ;  but  the  glories  of  this  easy  victory 
were  tarnished  by  an  act  of  cruelty.  Seven  thou- 
sand of  the  unfortunate  people,  refusing  to  take 
the  prescribed  oath  of  allegiance,  were  seized  by 
the  conquerors,  torn  from  their  homes,  placed  on 
shipboard  like  cargoes  of  negro  slaves,  and  trans- 
ported to  the  British  provinces.^  The  expedition 
against  l^iagara  was  a  total  failure,  for  the  troops 
did  not  even  reach  their  destination.  The  move- 
ment  against   Crown   Point   met  with    no   better 

1  Haliburton,  Hist.  Nova  Scotia,  I.  Chap.  IV. 


1755.]  BATTLE  OF  LAKE   GEOKGE.  115 

success,  as  regards  the  main  object  of  the  enter- 
prise. Owing  to  the  lateness  of  the  season,  and 
other  causes,  the  troops  proceeded  no  farther  than 
Lake  George ;  but  the  attempt  was  marked  by  a 
feat  of  arms,  which,  in  that  day  of  failures,  was 
greeted,  both  in  England  and  America,  as  a  signal 
victory. 

General  Johnson,  afterwards  Sir  William  John- 
son, had  been  charged  with  the  conduct  of  the 
Crown  Point  expedition ;  and  his  little  army,  a 
rude  assemblage  of  hunters  and  farmers  from  New 
York  and  New  England,  officers  and  men  alike 
ignorant  of  war,  lay  encamped  at  the  southern 
extremity  of  Lake  George.  Here,  while  they 
languidly  pursued  their  preparations,  their  active 
enemy  anticipated  them.  Baron  Dieskau,  who, 
with  a  body  of  troops,  had  reached  Quebec  in  the 
squadron  which  sailed  from  "Brest  in  the  spring, 
had  intended  to  take  forcible  possession  of  the 
English  fort  of  Oswego,  erected  upon  ground 
claimed  by  the  French  as  a  part  of  Canada. 
Learning  Johnson's  movements,  he  changed  his 
plan,  crossed  Lake  Champlain,  made  a  circuit  by 
way  of  Wood  Creek,  and  gained  the  rear  of  the 
English  army,  with  a  force  of  about  two  thousand 
French  and  Indians.  At  midnight,  on  the  seventh 
of  September,  the  tidings  reached  Johnson  that  the 
army  of  the  French  baron  was  but  a  few  miles 
distant  from  his  camp.  A  council  of  war  was 
called,  and  the  resolution  formed  of  detaching  a 
thousand  men  to  reconnoitre.  "  If  they  are  to  be 
killed,"  said  Hendrick,  the  Mohawk  chief,  "  they 


116  COLLISION  OF   THE   EIVAL   COLONIES.  [1755 

are  too  many ;  if  they  are  to  fight,  they  are  too 
few."  His  remonstrance  was  unheeded ;  arid  the 
brave  old  savage,  unable  from  age  and  corpulence 
to  fight  on  foot,  mounted  his  horse,  and  joined 
the  English  detachment  with  two  hundred  of  his 
warriors.  At  sunrise,  the  party  defiled  from  the 
camp,  and  entering  the  forest  disappeared  from 
the  eyes  of  their  comrades. 

Those  who  remained  behind  labored  with  all  the 
energy  of  alarm  to  fortify  their  unprotected  camp. 
An  hour  elapsed,  when  from  the  distance  was 
heard  a  sudden  explosion  of  musketry.  The 
excited  soldiers  suspended  their  work  to  listen. 
A  rattling  fire  succeeded,  deadened  among  the 
woods,  but  growing  louder  and  nearer,  till  none 
could  doubt  that  their  comrades  had  met  the 
French,  and  were  defeated. 

This  was  indeed  the  case.  Marching  through 
thick  woods,  by  the  narrow  and  newly-cut  road 
which  led  along  the  valley  southward  from  Lake 
George,  Williams,  the  English  commander,  had 
led  his  men  full  into  an  ambuscade,  where  all 
Dieskau's  army  lay  in  wait  to  receive  them.  From 
the  woods  on  both  sides  rose  an  appalling  shout, 
followed  by  a  storm  of  bullets.  Williams  was 
soon  shot  down  ;  Hendrick  shared  his  fate ;  many 
officers  fell,  and  the  road  was  strewn  with  dead 
and  wounded  soldiers.  The  English  gave  way  at 
once.  Had  they  been  regular  troops,  the  result 
would  have  been  worse ;  but  every  man  was  a 
woodsman  and  a  hunter.  Some  retired  in  bodies 
along  the  road ;    while  the   greater   part   spread 


1755.]  BATTLE   OF  LAKE   GEORGE.  117 

themselves  through  the  forest,  opposing  a  wide 
front  to  the  enemy,  fighting  stubbornly  as  they 
retreated,  and  shooting  back  at  the  French  from 
behind  every  tree  or  bush  that  could  afford  a  cover. 
The  Canadians  and  Indians  pressed  them  closely, 
darting,  with  shrill  cries,  from  tree  to  tree,  while 
Dieskau's  regulars,  with  steadier  advance,  bore  all 
before  them.  Far  and  wide  through  the  forest  rang 
shout  and  shriek  and  Indian  whoop,  mingled  with 
the  deadly  rattle  of  guns.  Retreating  and  pur- 
suing, the  combatants  passed  northward  towards 
the  English  camp,  leaving  the  ground  behind  them 
strewn  with  dead  and  dying. 

A  fresh  detachment  from  the  camp  came  in  aid 
of  the  English,  and  the  pursuit  was  checked.  Yet 
the  retreating  men  were  not  the  less  rejoiced  when 
they  could  discern,  between  the  brown  columns 
of  the  woods,  the  mountains  and  waters  of  Lake 
George,  with  the  white  tents  of  their  encampments 
on  its  shore.  The  French  followed  no  farther. 
The  blast  of  their  trumpets  was  heard  recalling 
their  scattered  men  for  a  final  attack. 

During  the  absence  of  Williams's  detachment, 
the  main  body  of  the  army  had  covered  the  front 
of  their  camp  with  a  breastwork,  —  if  that  name 
can  be  applied  to  a  row  of  logs,  —  behind  which  the 
marksmen  lay  flat  on  their  faces.  This  preparation 
was  not  yet  complete,  when  the  defeated  troops 
appeared  issuing  from  the  woods.  Breathless  and 
perturbed,  they  entered  the  camp,  and  lay  down 
with  the  rest ;  and  the  army  waited  the  attack  in 
a  frame  of  mind  which  boded  ill  for  the  result. 


118  COLLISION  OF  THE   RIVAL   COLONIES.  [1755. 

Soon,  at  the  edge  of  the  woods  which  bordered 
the  open  space  in  front,  painted  Indians  were  seen, 
and  bayonets  glittered  among  the  foliage,  shining, 
in  the  homely  comparison  of  a  New-England 
soldier,  like  a  row  of  icicles  on  a  January  morn- 
ing. The  French  regulars  marched  in  column  to 
the  edge  of  the  clearing,  and  formed  in  line,  con- 
fronting the  English  at  the  distance  of  a  hundred 
and  fifty  yards.  Their  complete  order,  their  white 
uniforms  and  bristling  bayonets,  were  a  new  and 
startling  sight  to  the  eyes  of  Johnson's  rustic 
soldiers,  who  raised  but  a  feeble  cheer  in  answer 
to  the  shouts  of  their  enemies.  Happily,  Dieskau 
made  no  assault.  The  regulars  opened  a  distant 
lire  of  musketry,  throwing  volley  after  volley  against 
the  English,  while  the  Canadians  and  Indians,  dis- 
persing through  the  morasses  on  each  flank  of  the 
camp,  fired  sharply,  under  cover  of  the  trees  and 
bushes.  In  the  rear,  the  English  were  protected 
by  the  lake ;  but  on  the  three  remaining  sides, 
they  were  hedged  in  by  the  flash  and  smoke  of 
musketry. 

The  fire  of  the  French  had  little  effect.  The 
English  recovered  from  their  first  surprise,  and 
every  moment  their  confidence  rose  higher  and 
their  shouts  grew  louder.  Levelling  their  long 
hunting  guns  with  cool  precision,  they  returned  a 
fire  which  thinned  the  ranks  of  the  French,  and 
galled  them  beyond  endurance.  Two  cannon  were 
soon  brought  to  bear  upon  the  morasses  which 
sheltered  the  Canadians  and  Indians ;  and  though 
the  pieces  were  served  with  little  skill,  the  assail- 


1755.]  BATTLE  OF  LAKE   GEORGE.  119 

ants  were  so  terrified  by  the  crashing  of  the  balls 
among  the  trunks  and  branches,  that  they  gave 
way  at  once.  Dieskau  still  persisted  in  the  attack. 
From  noon  until  past  four  o'clock,  the  firing  was 
scarcely  abated,  when  at  length  the  French,  who 
had  suffered  extremely,  showed  signs  of  wavering. 
At  this,  with  a  general  shout,  the  English  broke 
from  their  camp,  and  rushed  upon  their  enemies, 
striking  them  down  with  the  huts  of  their  guns, 
and  driving  them  through  the  woods  like  deer. 
Dieskau  was  taken  prisoner,  dangerously  wounded, 
and  leaning  for  support  against  the  stump  of  a 
tree.  The  slaughter  would  have  been  great,  had 
not  the  English  general  recalled  the  pursuers,  and 
suffered  the  French  to  continue  their  flight  unmo- 
lested. Fresh  disasters  still  awaited  the  fugitives ; 
for,  as  they  approached  the  scene  of  that  morning's 
ambuscade,  they  were  greeted  by  a  volley  of  mus- 
ketry. Two  companies  of  New  York  and  New 
Hampshire  rangers,  who  had  come  out  from  Fort 
Edward  as  a  scouting  party,  had  lain  in  wait  to 
receive  them.  Favored  by  the  darkness  of  the 
woods,  —  for  night  was  now  approaching,  —  they 
made  so  sudden  and  vigorous  an  attack,  that  the 
French,  though  far  superior  in  number,  were  totally 
routed  and  dispersed.^ 

1  Holmes,  II.  210.  Trumbull,  Hist.  Conn.  II.  368.  Dwight,  Travels, 
III.  861.  Hoyt,  Indian  Wars,  279.  Entick,  Hist.  Late  War,  I.  153.  Re- 
view of  Military  Operations  in  North  America.  Johnson's  Letter  to  the  Pro- 
vincial Governors.  Blodgett's  Prospective  View  of  the  Battle  near  Lake 
George. 

Blodgett's  pamphlet  is  accompanied  by  a  curious  engraving,  giving  a 
bird's  eye  view  of  the  battle,  including  the  surprise  of  Williams'  detach- 
ment, and  the  subsequent  attack  on  the  camp  of  Johnson.     In  the  first 


120  COLLISION  OF   THE  RIVAL  COLONIES.  [1755. 

This  memorable  conflict  has  cast  its  dark  associ- 
ations over  one  of  the  most  beautiful  spots  in 
America.  Near  the  scene  of  the  evening  fight,  a 
pool,  half  overgrown  by  weeds  and  water  lilies,  and 
darkened  by  the  surrounding  forest,  is  pointed  out 
to  the  tourist,  and  he  is  told  that  beneath  its  stag- 
nant waters  lie  the  bones  of  three  hundred  French- 
men, deep  buried  in  mud  and  slime. 

The  war  thus  begun  was  prosecuted  for  five 
succeeding  years  with  the  full  energy  of  both 
nations.  The  period  was  one  of  suffering  and 
anxiety  to  the  colonists,  who,  knowing  the  full 
extent  of  their  danger,  spared  no  exertion  to  avert 
it.  In  the  year  1758,  Lord  Abercrombie,  who  then 
commanded  in  America,  had  at  his  disposal  a  force 
amounting  to  fifty  thousand  men,  of  whom  the 
greater  part  were  provincials.^  The  operations  of 
the  war  embraced  a  wide  extent  of  country,  from 
Cape  Breton  and  Nova  Scotia  to  the  sources  of  the 


half  of  the  engraving,  the  French  army  is  represented  lying  in  ambus- 
cade in  the  form  of  a  horseshoe.  Hendrick  is  conspicuous  among  the 
English,  from  being  mounted  on  horseback,  while  all  the  others  are  on 
foot.  In  the  view  of  the  battle  at  the  lake,  the  English  are  represented 
lying  flat  on  their  faces,  behind  their  breastwork,  and  busily  firing  at  the 
French  and  Indians,  who  are  seen  skulking  among  the  woods  and 
thickets. 

I  am  again  indebted  to  President  Sparks  for  the  opportunity  of  exam- 
ining several  curious  manuscripts  relating  to  the  battle  of  Lake  George. 
Among  them  is  Dieskau's  official  account  of  the  affair,  and  a  curious 
paper,  also  written  by  the  defeated  general,  and  containing  the  story  of 
his  disaster,  as  related  by  himself  in  an  imaginary  conversation  with  his 
old  commander,  Marshal  Saxe,  in  the  Elysian  Fields.  Several  writers 
have  stated  that  Dieskau  died  of  his  wounds.  This,  however,  was  not 
the  case.  He  was  carried  prisoner  to  England,  wliere  he  lived  for  several 
years,  but  returned  to  France  after  the  peace  of  1763. 

1  Hohnes,  II.  226. 


1756-1758.]  LAKE   GEORGE.  121 

Ohio ;  but  nowhere  was  the  contest  so  actively  car- 
ried on  as  in  the  neighborhood  of  Lake  George, 
the  waters  of  which,  joined  with  those  of  Lake 
Champlain,  formed  the  main  avenue  of  communi- 
cation between  Canada  and  the  British  provinces. 
Lake  George  is  more  than  thirty  miles  long,  but  of 
width  so  slight  that  it  seems  like  some  broad  and 
placid  river,  enclosed  between  ranges  of  lofty  moun- 
tains ;  now  contracting  into  narrows,  dotted  with 
islands  and  shadowed  by  cliffs  and  crags,  now 
spreading  into  a  clear  and  open  expanse.  It  had 
long  been  known  to  the  French.  The  Jesuit  Isaac 
Jogues,  bound  on  a  fatal  mission  to  the  ferocious 
Mohawks,  had  reached  its  banks  on  the  eve  of 
Corpus  Christi  Day,  and  named  it  Lac  St.  Sac- 
rement.  Its  solitude  was  now  rudely  invaded. 
Armies  passed  and  repassed  upon  its  tranquil 
bosom.  At  its  northern  point  the  French  planted 
their  stronghold  of  Ticonderoga ;  at  its  southern 
stood  the  English  fort  William  Henry,  while  the 
mountains  and  waters  between  were  a  scene  of 
ceaseless  ambuscades,  surprises,  and  forest  skir- 
mishing. Through  summer  and  winter,  the  crack 
of  rifles  and  the  cries  of  men  gave  no  rest  to  their 
echoes ;  and  at  this  day,  on  the  field  of  many  a  for- 
gotten fight,  are  dug  up  rusty  tomahawks,  corroded 
bullets,  and  human  bones,  to  attest  the  struggles  of 
the  past. 

The  earlier  years  of  the  war  were  unpropitious 
to  the  English,  whose  commanders  displayed  no 
great  degree  of  vigor  or  ability.  In  the  summer  of 
1756,  the  French  general  Montcalm  advanced  upon 


122  COLLISION  OF   THE   RIVAL  COLONIES.     [1756-1758 

Oswego,  took  it,  and  levelled  it  to  the  ground.  In 
August  of  the  following  year,  he  struck  a  heavier 
blow.  Passing  Lake  George  with  a  force  of  eight 
thousand  men,  including  about  two  thousand  In- 
dians, gathered  from  the  farthest  parts  of  Canada, 
he  laid  siege  to  Fort  WilUam  Henry,  close  to  the 
spot  where  Dieskau  had  been  defeated  two  years 
before.  Planting  his  batteries  against  it,  he  beat 
down  its  ramparts  and  dismounted  its  guns,  until 
the  garrison,  after  a  brave  defence,  were  forced  to 
capitulate.  They  marched  out  with  the  honors  of 
war ;  but  scarcely  had  they  done  so,  when  Mont- 
calm's Indians  assailed  them,  cutting  down  and 
scalping  them  without  mercy.  Those  who  escaped 
came  in  to  Fort  Edward  with  exaggerated  accounts 
of  the  horrors  from  which  they  had  fled,  and  a 
general  terror  was  spread  through  the  country. 
The  inhabitants  were  mustered  from  all  parts  to 
repel  the  advance  of  Montcalm ;  but  the  French 
general,  satisfied  with  what  he  had  done,  repassed 
Lake  George,  and  retired  behind  the  walls  of 
Ticonderoga. 

In  the  year  1758,  the  war  began  to  assume  a  dif- 
ferent aspect,! for  Pitt  was  at  the  head  of  the  gov- 
ernment. Sir  Jeffrey  Amherst  laid  siege  to  the 
strong  fortress  of  Louisburg,  and  at  length  reduced 
it ;  while  in  the  south,  General  Forbes  marched 
against  Fort  du  Quesne,  and,  more  fortunate  than 
his  predecessor,  Braddock,  drove  the  French  from 
that  important  point.  Another  successful  stroke 
was  the  destruction  of  Fort  Frontenac,  which  was 
taken  by  a  provincial  army  under  Colonel  Brad- 


1758.]  ATTACK  ON  TICONDEROGA.  123 

street.  These  achievements  were  counterbalanced 
by  a  great  disaster.  Lord  Abercrombie,  with  an 
army  of  sixteen  thousand  men,  advanced  to  the 
head  of  Lake  George,  the  place  made  memorable 
by  Dieskau's  defeat  and  the  loss  of  Fort  William 
Henry.  On  a  brilliant  July  morning,  he  embarked 
his  whole  force  for  an  attack  on  Ticonderoga. 
Many  of  those  present  have  recorded  with  admi- 
ration the  beauty  of  the  spectacle,  the  lines  of 
boats  filled  with  troops  stretching  far  down  the 
lake,  the  flashing  of  oars,  the  glitter  of  weapons, 
and  the  music  ringing  back  from  crags  and  rocks, 
or  dying  in  mellowed  strains  among  the  distant 
mountains.  At  night,  the  army  landed,  and,  driv- 
ing in  the  French  outposts,  marched  through  the 
woods  towards  Ticonderoga.  One  of  their  col- 
umns, losing  its  way  in  the  forest,  fell  in  with  a 
body  of  the  retreating  French  ;  and  in  the  conflict 
that  ensued,  Lord  Howe,  the  favorite  of  the  army, 
was  shot  dead.  On  the  eighth  of  July,  they  pre- 
pared to  storm  the  lines  which  Montcalm  had 
drawn  across  the  peninsula  in  front  of  the  fortress. 
Advancing  to  the  attack,  they  saw  before  them  a 
breastwork  of  uncommon  height  and  thickness. 
The  French  army  were  drawn  up  behind  it,  their 
heads  alone  visible,  as  they  levelled  their  muskets 
against  the  assailants,  while,  for  a  hundred  yards  in 
front  of  the  work,  the  ground  was  covered  with 
felled  trees,  with  sharpened  branches  pointing  out- 
ward. The  signal  of  assault  was  given.  In  vain 
the  Highlanders,  screaming  with  rage,  hewed  with 
their  broadswords  among  the  branches,  struggling 


124  COLLISION  OF  THE  RIVAL  COLONIES.  [1759. 

to  get  at  the  enemy.  In  vain  the  English,  with 
their  deep-toned  shout,  rushed  on  in  heavy  columns. 
A  tempest  of  musket  balls  met  them,  and  Mont- 
calm's cannon  swept  the  whole  ground  with  terrible 
carnage.  A  few  officers  and  men  forced  their  way 
through  the  branches,  passed  the  ditch,  climbed 
the  breastwork,  and,  leaping  among  the  enemy, 
were  instantly  bayonetted.  The  English  fought 
four  hours  with  determined  valor,  but  the  position 
of  the  French  was  impregnable ;  and  at  length, 
having  lost  two  thousand  of  their  number,  the 
army  drew  off,  leaving  many  of  their  dead  scattered 
upon  the  field.  A  sudden  panic  seized  the  defeated 
troops.  They  rushed  in  haste  to  their  boats,  and, 
though  no  pursuit  was  attempted,  they  did  not 
regain  their  composure  until  Lake  George  was 
between  them  and  the  enemy.  The  fatal  lines  of 
Ticonderoga  were  not  soon  forgotten  in  the  prov- 
inces ;  and  marbles  in  Westminster  Abbey  preserve 
the  memory  of  those  who  fell  on  that  disastrous  day. 
This  repulse,  far  from  depressing  the  energies  of 
the  British  commanders,  seemed  to  stimulate  them 
to  new  exertion ;  and  the  campaign  of  the  next 
year,  1759,  had  for  its  object  the  immediate  and 
total  reduction  of  Canada.  This  unhappy  country 
was  full  of  misery  and  disorder.  Peculation  and 
every  kind  of  corruption  prevailed  among  its  civil 
and  military  chiefs,  a  reckless  licentiousness  was 
increasing  among  the  people,  and  a  general  famine 
seemed  impending,  for  the  population  had  of  late 
years  been  drained  away  for  military  service,  and 
the  fields  were  left  untilled.     In  spite  of  their  suf- 


1759.]  INVASION  OF   CANADA.  125 

fe rings,  the  Canadians,  strong  in  rooted  antipathy 
to  the  English,  and  highly  excited  by  their  priests, 
resolved  on  fighting  to  the  last.  Prayers  were 
offered  up  in  the  churches,  masses  said,  and  pen- 
ances enjoined,  to  avert  the  wrath  of  God  from  the 
colony,  while  every  thing  was  done  for  its  defence 
which  the  energies  of  a  great  and  patriotic  leader 
could  effect. 

By  the  plan  of  this  summer's  campaign,  Canada 
was  to  be  assailed  on  three  sides  at  once.  Upon 
the  west,  General  Prideaux  was  to  attack  Niagara ; 
upon  the  south.  General  Amherst  was  to  advance 
upon  Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point ;  while  upon 
the  east.  General  Wolfe  was  to  besiege  Quebec ; 
and  each  of  these  armies,  having  accomplished  its 
particular  object,  was  directed  to  push  forward,  if 
possible,  until  all  three  had  united  in  the  heart  of 
Canada.  In  pursuance  of  the  plan.  General  Pri- 
deaux moved  up  Lake  Ontario  and  invested  Niagara. 
This  post  was  one  of  the  greatest  importance.  Its 
capture  would  cut  off  the  French  from  the  whole 
interior  country,  and  they  therefore  made  every 
effort  to  raise  the  siege.  An  army  of  seventeen 
hundred  French  and  Indians,  collected  at  the  dis- 
tant garrisons  of  Detroit,  Presqu'  Isle,  Le  Boeuf, 
and  Venango,  suddenly  appeared  before  Niagara.^ 
Sir  William  Johnson  was  now  in  command  of  the 
English,  Prideaux  having  been  killed  by  the  biu'st- 
ing  of  a  cohorn.  Advancing  in  order  of  battle,  he 
met  the  French,  charged,  routed,  and  pursued  them 

1  Annual  Register,  1759,  p.  33. 


126  COLLISION   OF   THE   RIVAL   COLONIES.  [1759. 

for  five  miles  through  the  woods.  This  success  was 
soon  followed  by  the  surrender  of  the  fort. 

In  the  mean  time,  Sir  Jeffrey  Amherst  had 
crossed  Lake  George,  and  appeared  before  Ticon- 
deroga ;  upon  which  the  French  blew  up  their 
works,  and  retired  down  Lake  Champlain  to  Crown 
Point.  Retreating  from  this  position  also,  on  the 
approach  of  the  English  army,  they  collected  all 
their  forces,  amounting  to  little  more  than  three 
thousand  men,  at  Isle  Aux  Noix,  where  they 
intrenched  themselves,  and  prepared  to  resist  the 
farther  progress  of  the  invaders.  The  lateness  of 
the  season  prevented  Amherst  from  carrying  out  the 
plan  of  advancing  into  Canada,  and  compelled  him 
to  go  into  winter-quarters  at  Crown  Point.  The 
same  cause  had  withheld  Prideaux's  army  from 
descending  the  St.  Lawrence. 

While  the  outposts  of  Canada  were  thus  success- 
fully attacked,  a  blow  was  struck  at  a  more  vital 
part.  Early  in  June,  General  Wolfe  sailed  up  the 
St.  Lawrence  with  a  force  of  eight  thousand  men, 
and  formed  his  camp  immediately  below  Quebec, 
on  the  Island  of  Orleans.^  From  thence  he  could 
discern,  at  a  single  glance,  how  arduous  was  the 
task  before  him.  Piles  of  lofty  cliffs  rose  with 
sheer  ascent  on  the  northern  border  of  the  river ; 
and  from  their  summits  the  boasted  citadel  of  Can- 
ada looked  down  in  proud  security,  with  its  churches 
and  convents  of  stone,  its  ramparts,  bastions,  and 
batteries ;  while  over  them  all,  from  the  brink  of 

1  Mante,  Hist.  Late  War,  238. 


1759.]  WOLFE   BEFORE    QUEBEC.  127 

the  precipice,  towered  the  massive  walls  of  the 
Castle  of  St.  Louis.  Above,  for  many  a  league,  the 
bank  was  guarded  by  an  unbroken  range  of  steep 
acclivities.  Below,  the  Kiver  St.  Charles,  flowing 
into  the  St.  Lawrence,  washed  the  base  of  the 
rocky  promontory  on  which  the  city  stood.  Lower 
yet  lay  an  army  of  fourteen  thousand  men,  under 
an  able  and  renowned  commander,  the  Marquis  of 
Montcalm.  His  front  was  covered  by  intrench- 
ments  and  batteries,  which  lined  the  bank  of  the 
St.  Lawrence ;  his  right  wing  rested  on  the  city 
and  the  St.  Charles ;  his  left,  on  the  cascade 
and  deep  gulf  of  Montmorenci ;  and  thick  forests 
extended  along  his  rear.  Opposite  Quebec  rose 
the  high  promontory  of  Point  Levi ;  and  the  St. 
Lawrence,  contracted  to  less  than  a  mile  in  width, 
flowed  between,  with  deep  and  powerful  current. 
To  a  chief  of  less  resolute  temper,  it  might  well 
have  seemed  that  art  and  nature  were  in  league  to 
thwart  his  enterprise  ;  but  a  mind  like  that  of 
Wolfe  could  only  have  seen  in  this  majestic  combi- 
nation of  forest  and  cataract,  mountain  and  river,  a 
fitting  theatre  for  the  great  drama  about  to  be 
enacted  there. 

Yet  nature  did  not  seem  to  have  formed  the 
young  English  general  for  the  conduct  of  a  doubt- 
ful and  almost  desperate  enterprise.  His  person 
was  slight,  and  his  features  by  no  means  of  a  mar- 
tial cast.  His  feeble  constitution  had  been  under- 
mined by  years  of  protracted  and  painful  disease.^ 

1  "  I  have  this  day  signified  to  Mr.  Pitt  that  he  may  dispose  of  my 
slight  carcass  as  he  pleases ;  and  that  I  am  ready  for  any  undertaking 


128  COLLISION  OF    THE   RIVAL   COLONIES.  [1759 

His  kind  and  genial  disposition  seemed  better  fitted 
for  the  quiet  of  domestic  life  than  for  the  stern 
duties  of  military  command ;  but  to  these  gentler 
traits  he  joined  a  high  enthusiasm,  and  an  uncon- 
querable spirit  of  daring  and  endurance,  which 
made  him  the  idol  of  his  soldiers,  and  bore  his 
slender  frame  through  every  hardship  and  exposure. 
The  work  before  him  demanded  all  his  courage. 
How  to  invest  the  city,  or  even  bring  the  army  of 
Montcalm  to  action,  was  a  problem  which  might 
have  perplexed  a  Hannibal.  A  French  fleet  lay  in 
the  river  above,  and  the  precipices  along  the  north- 
ern bank  were  guarded  at  every  accessible  point  by 
sentinels  and  outposts.  Wolfe  would  have  crossed 
the  Montmorenci  by  its  upper  ford,  and  attacked 
the  French  army  on  its  left  and  rear  ;  but  the  plan 
was  thwarted  by  the  nature  of  the  ground  and  the 
vigilance  of  his  adversaries.  Thus  baffled  at  every 
other  point,  he  formed  the  bold  design  of  storming 
Montcalm's  position  in  front ;  and  on  the  afternoon 
of  the  thirty-first  of  July,  a  strong  body  of  troops 
was  embarked  in  boats,  and,  covered  by  a  furious 
cannonade  from  the  English  ships  and  batteries, 
landed  on  the  beach  just  above  the  mouth  of  the 
Montmorenci.  The  grenadiers  and  Royal  Ameri- 
cans  were   the   first  on  shore,  and  their  ill-timed 

within  the  reach  and  compass  of  my  skill  and  cunning.  I  am  in  a  very 
bad  condition,  both  with  the  gravel  and  rheumatism;  but  I  had  much 
rather  die  than  decline  any  kind  of  service  that  offers  :  if  I  followed  my 
own  taste,  it  would  lead  me  into  Germany ;  and  if  my  poor  talent  was 
consulted,  they  should  place  me  to  the  cavalry,  because  nature  has  given 
me  good  eyes,  and  a  warmth  of  temper  to  follow  the  first  impressions. 
However,  it  is  not  our  part  to  choose,  but  to  obey."  —  Letter —  Wolfe  to 
William  Rickson,  Salisbury,  December  1,  1758. 


1759.]  ASSAULT   AT   MONTMORENCI.  129 

impetuosity  proved  the  ruin  of  the  plan.  Without 
waiting  to  receive  their  orders  or  form  their  ranks, 
they  ran,  pell-mell,  across  the  level  ground,  and 
with  loud  shouts  began,  each  man  for  himself,  to 
scale  the  heights  which  rose  in  front,  crested  with 
intrenchments  and  bristling  with  hostile  arms.  The 
French  at  the  top  threw  volley  after  volley  among 
the  hot-headed  assailants.  The  slopes  were  soon 
covered  with  the  fallen ;  and  at  that  instant  a 
storm,  which  had  long  been  threatening,  burst  with 
sudden  fury,  drenched  the  combatants  on  both  sides 
with  a  deluge  of  rain,  extinguished  for  a  moment 
the  fire  of  the  French,  and  at  the  same  time  made 
the  steeps  so  slippery  that  the  grenadiers  fell  repeat- 
edly in  their  vain  attempts  to  climb.  Night  was 
coming  on  with  double  darkness.  The  retreat  was 
sounded,  and,  as  the  English  re-embarked,  troops  of 
Indians  came  whooping  down  the  heights,  and  hov- 
ered about  their  rear,  to  murder  the  stragglers  and 
the  wounded ;  while  exulting  cries  of  Vive  le  roi, 
from  the  crowded  summits,  proclaimed  the  triumph 
of  the  enemy. 

With  bitter  agony  of  mind,  Wolfe  beheld  the 
headlong  folly  of  his  men,  and  saw  more  than  four 
hundred  of  the  flower  of  his  army  fall  a  useless 
sacrifice.^  The  anxieties  of  the  siege  had  told 
severely  upon  his  slender  constitution ;  and  not 
long  after  this  disaster,  he  felt  the  first  symptoms 
of  a  fever,  which  soon  confined  him  to  his  couch. 
Still  his  mind  never  wavered  from  its  purpose ; 
and  it  was  while  lying  helpless  in  the  chamber  of  a 

1  Knox,  Journals,  I.  358. 
9 


130  COLLISION  OF  THE  RIVAL   COLONIES.  [1759. 

Canadian  house,  where  he  had  fixed  his  head- 
quarters, that  he  embraced  the  plan  of  the  enter- 
prise which  robbed  him  of  Hfe,  and  gave  him 
immortal  fame. 

This  plan  had  been  first  proposed  during  the 
height  of  Wolfe's  illness,  at  a  council  of  his  subor- 
dinate generals,  Monkton,  Townshend,  and  Murray. 
It  was  resolved  to  divide  the  little  army  ;  and,  while 
one  portion  remained  before  Quebec  to  alarm  the 
enemy  by  false  attacks,  and  distract  their  attention 
from  the  scene  of  actual  operation,  the  other  was 
to  pass  above  the  town,  land  under  cover  of  dark- 
ness on  the  northern  shore,  climb  the  guarded 
heights,  gain  the  plains  above,  and  force  Montcalm 
to  quit  his  vantage-ground,  and  perhaps  to  offer 
battle.  The  scheme  was  daring  even  to  rashness  ; 
but  its  audacity  was  the  secret  of  its  success. 

Early  in  September,  a  crowd  of  ships  and  trans- 
ports, under  Admiral  Holmes,  passed  the  city 
under  the  hot  fire  of  its  batteries ;  while  the 
troops  designed  for  the  expedition,  amounting  to 
scarcely  five  thousand,  marched  upward  along  the 
southern  bank,  beyond  reach  of  the  cannonade. 
All  were  then  embarked ;  and  on  the  evening  of 
the  twelfth,  Holmes's  fleet,  with  the  troops  on 
board,  lay  safe  at  anchor  in  the  river,  several 
leagues  above  the  town.  These  operations  had 
not  failed  to  awaken  the  suspicions  of  Montcalm  ; 
and  he  had  detached  M.  Bougainville  to  watch  the 
movements  of  the  English,  and  prevent  their  land- 
ing on  the  northern  shore. 

The  eventful  night  of  the  twelfth  was  clear  and 


1759.]  HEROISM  OF  WOLFE.  131 

calm,  with  no  light  but  that  of  the  stars.  Within 
two  hours  before  daybreak,  thirty  boats,  crowded 
with  sixteen  hundred  soldiers,  cast  off  from  the 
vessels,  and  floated  downward,  in  perfect  order, 
with  the  current  of  the  ebb  tide.  To  the  boundless 
joy  of  the  army,  Wolfe's  malady  had  abated,  and 
he  was  able  to  command  in  person.  His  ruined 
health,  the  gloomy  prospects  of  the  siege,  and  the 
disaster  at  Montmorenci,  had  oppressed  him  with 
the  deepest  melancholy,  but  never  impaired  for  a 
moment  the  promptness  of  his  decisions,  or  the 
impetuous  energy  of  his  action.^  He  sat  in  the 
stera  of  one  of  the  boats,  pale  and  weak,  but  borne 
up  to  a  calm  height  of  resolution.  Every  order 
had  been  given,  every  arrangement  made,  and  it 
only  remained  to  face  the  issue.  The  ebbing  tide 
sufl[iced  to  bear  the  boats  along,  and  nothing  broke 
the  silence  of  the  night  but  the  gurgling  of  the 
river,  and  the  low  voice  of  Wolfe,  as  he  repeated 
to  the  officers  about  him  the  stanzas  of  Gray's 
"  Elegy   in   a    Country   Churchyard,"    which    had 

1  Entick,  IV.  111. 

In  his  letter  to  the  Ministry,  dated  Sept.  2,  Wolfe  writes  in  these 
desponding  words :  — 

"  By  the  nature  of  the  river,  the  most  formidable  part  of  this  arma- 
ment is  deprived  of  the  power  of  acting ;  yet  we  have  almost  the  whole 
force  of  Canada  to  oppose.  In  this  situation  there  is  such  a  choice  of 
difficuUies,  that  I  own  myself  at  a  loss  how  to  determine.  The  affairs  of 
Great  Britain  I  know  require  the  most  vigorous  measures,  but  then  the 
courage  of  a  handful  of  brave  troops  should  be  exerted  only  where  tliere 
is  some  hope  of  a  favorable  event.  However,  you  may  be  assured,  that 
the  small  part  of  the  campaign  which  remains  shall  be  employed  (as  far 
as  I  am  able)  for  the  honor  of  his  Majesty,  and  the  interest  of  the  nation  ; 
in  which  I  am  sure  of  being  well  seconded  by  the  admiral  and  by  the 
generals  :  happy  if  our  efforts  here  can  contribute  to  the  success  of  his 
Majesty's  arms  in  any  other  part  of  America." 


132  COLLISION   OF   THE   RIVAL   COLONIES.  [1759. 

recently  appeared  and  which  he  had  just  received 
from  England.  Perhaps,  as  he  uttered  those 
strangely  appropriate  words, — 

"  The  paths  of  glory  lead  but  to  the  grave," 

the  shadows  of  his  own  approaching  fate  stole  with 
mournful  prophecy  across  his  mind.  "  Gentlemen," 
he  said,  as  he  closed  his  recital,  "  I  would  rather 
have  written  those  lines  than  take  Quebec  to- 
morrow." ^ 

As  they  approached  the  landing-place,  the  boats 
edged  closer  in  towards  the  northern  shore,  and 
the  woody  precipices  rose  high  on  their  left,  like  a 
wall  of  undistinguished  blackness. 

"  Qui  Vive  ? "  shouted  a  French  sentinel,  from 
out  the  impervious  gloom. 

"  La  France  !"  answered  a  captain  of  Eraser's 
Highlanders,  from  the  foremost  boat. 

"  A  quel  regiment  f  "  demanded  the  soldier. 

"  Z)e  la  Reine  !  "  promptly  replied  the  Highland 
captain,  who  chanced  to  know  that  the  regiment 
so  designated  formed  part  of  Bougainville's  com- 
mand. As  boats  were  frequently  passing  down 
the  river  with  supplies  for  the  garrison,  and  as  a 

1  "  This  anecdote  was  related  bj  the  late  celebrated  John  Eobison, 
Professor  of  Natural  Philosophy  in  the  University  of  Edinburgh,  who,  in 
his  youth,  was  a  midshipman  in  the  British  navy,  and  was  in  the  same 
boat  with  Wolfe.  His  son,  my  kinsman,  Sir  John  Robison,  commu- 
nicated it  to  me,  and  it  has  since  been  recorded  in  the  Transactions  of  the 
Eoyal  Society  of  Edinburgh. 

♦  The  paths  of  glory  lead  but  to  the  grave ' 

is  one  of  the  lines  which  Wolfe  must  have  recited  as  he  strikingly  exem- 
pUfied  its  appUcation."  —  Grahame,  Hist.  U.  S.  IV.  50.  See  also  Play- 
/air'sWorks,lY.  12Q. 


1759. j  WOLFE'S   COVE.  133 

convoy  from  Bougainville  was  expected  that  very 
night,  the  sentinel  was  deceived,  and  allowed  the 
English  to  proceed. 

A  few  moments  after,  they  were  challenged 
again,  and  this  time  they  could  discern  the  soldier 
running  close  down  to  the  water's  edge,  as  if  all 
his  suspicions  were  aroused  ;  but  the  skilful  replies 
of  the  Highlander  once  more  saved  the  party  from 
discovery.^ 

They  reached  the  landing-place  in  safety,  —  an 
indentation  in  the  shore,  about  a  league  above  the 
city,  and  now  bearing  the  name  of  Wolfe's  Cove. 
Here  a  narrow  path  led  up  the  face  of  the  heights, 
and  a  French  guard  was  posted  at  the  top  to  defend 
the  pass.  By  the  force  of  the  current,  the  fore- 
most boats,  including  that  which  carried  Wolfe 
himself,  were  borne  a  little  below  the  spot.  The 
general  was  one  of  the  first  on  shore.  He  looked 
upward  at  the  rugged  heights  which  towered  above 
him  in  the  gloom.  "  You  can  try  it,"  he  coolly 
observed  to  an  officer  near  him  ;  "  but  I  don't  think 
you'll  get  up."  ^ 

At  the  point  where  the  Highlanders  landed,  one 
of  their  captains,  Donald  Macdonald,  apparently 
the  same  whose  presence  of  mind  had  just  saved 
the  enterprise  from  ruin,  was  climbing  in  advance 
of  his  men,  when  he  was  challenged  by  a  sentinel. 

1  Smollett,  V.  56,  note  (Edinburgh,  1805).  Mante  simply  mentions 
that  the  English  were  challenged  by  the  sentinels,  and  escaped  discovery 
by  replying  in  French. 

2  This  incident  is  mentioned  in  a  manuscript  journal  of  the  siege  of 
Quebec,  by  John  Johnson,  clerk  and  quartermaster  in  the  58th  regiment. 
The  journal  is  written  with  great  care,  and  abounds  in  curious  details. 


134  COLLISION  OF  THE  RIVAL  COLONIES.  [1759. 

He  replied  in  French,  by  declaring  that  he  had 
been  sent  to  relieve  the  guard,  and  ordering  the 
soldier  to  withdraw.^  Before  the  latter  was  unde- 
ceived, a  crowd  of  Highlanders  were  close  at  hand, 
while  the  steeps  below  were  thronged  with  eager 
climbers,  dragging  themselves  up  by  trees,  roots, 
and  bushes.^  The  guard  turned  out,  and  made  a 
brief  though  brave  resistance.  In  a  moment,  they 
w^ere  cut  to  pieces,  dispersed,  or  made  prisoners  ; 
while  men  after  men  came  swarming  up  the  height, 
and  quickly  formed  upon  the  plains  above.  Mean- 
while, the  vessels  had  dropped  downward  with  the 
current,  and  anchored  opposite  the  landing-place. 
The  remaining  troops  were  disembarked,  and,  with 
the  dawn  of  day,  the  whole  were  brought  in  safety 
to  the  shore. 

The  sun  rose,  and,  from  the  ramparts  of  Quebec, 
the  astonished  people  saw  the  Plains  of  Abraham 
glittering  with  arms,  and  the  dark-red  lines  of  the 
English  forming  in  array  of  battle.  Breathless 
messengers  had  borne  the  evil  tidings  to  Montcalm, 
and  far  and  near  his  wide-extended  camp  resounded 
with  the  rolling  of  alarm  drums  and  the  din  of 
startled  preparation.  He,  too,  had  had  his  struggles 
and  his  sorrows.  The  civil  power  had  thwarted 
him ;  famine,  discontent,  and  disaffection  were  rife 
among  his  soldiers  ;  and  no  small  portion  of  the 
Canadian  militia  had  dispersed  from  sheer  starva- 
tion. In  spite  of  all,  he  had  trusted  to  hold  out 
till  the  winter  frosts  should  drive  the  invaders  from 

1  Knox,  Journal,  11.  68,  note. 

2  Despatch  of  Admiral  Saunders,  Sept.  20,  1759. 


1759.]  BATTLE   OF   QUEBEC.  135 

before  the  town  ;  when,  on  that  disastrous  morning, 
the  news  of  their  successful  temerity  fell  like  a 
cannon  shot  upon  his  ear.  Still  he  asssumed  a 
tone  of  confidence.  "  They  have  got  to  the  weak 
side  of  us  at  last,"  he  is  reported  to  have  said, 
"  and  we  must  crush  them  with  our  numbers." 
With  headlong  haste,  his  troops  were  pouring  over 
the  bridge  of  the  St.  Charles,  and  gathering  in 
heavy  masses  under  the  western  ramparts  of  the 
town.  Could  numbers  give  assurance  of  success, 
their  triumph  would  have  been  secure ;  for  five 
French  battalions  and  the  armed  colonial  peasantry 
amounted  in  all  to  more  than  seven  thousand  five 
hundred  men.  Full  in  sight  before  them  stretched 
the  long,  thin  lines  of  the  British  forces,  —  the 
half- wild  Highlanders,  the  steady  soldiery  of  Eng- 
land, and  the  hardy  levies  of  the  provinces, — less 
than  five  thousand  in  number,  but  all  inured  to 
battle,  and  strong  in  the  full  assurance  of  success. 
Yet,  could  the  chiefs  of  that  gallant  army  have 
pierced  the  secrets  of  the  future,  could  they  have 
foreseen  that  the  victory  which  they  burned  to 
achieve  would  have  robbed  England  of  her  proud- 
est boast,  that  the  conquest  of  Canada  would  pave 
the  way  for  the  independence  of  America,  their 
swords  would  have  dropped  from  their  hands,  and 
the  heroic  fire  have  gone  out  within  their  hearts. 

It  was  nine  o'clock,  and  the  adverse  armies  stood 
motionless,  each  gazing  on  the  other.  The  clouds 
hung  low,  and,  at  intervals,  warm  light  showers 
descended,  besprinkling  both  alike.  The  coppice 
and  cornfields  in  front  of  the  British  troops  were 


136  COLLISION  OF   THE   RIVAL   COLONIES.  [1759. 

filled  with  French  sharpshooters,  who  kept  up  a 
distant,  spattering  fire.  Here  and  there  a  soldier 
fell  in  the  ranks,  and  the  gap  was  filled  in  silence. 
At  a  little  before  ten,  the  British  could  see  that 
Montcalm  was  preparing  to  advance,  and,  in  a  few 
moments,  all  his  troops  appeared  in  rapid  motion. 
They  came  on  in  three  divisions,  shouting  after  the 
manner  of  their  nation,  and  firing  heavily  as  soon 
as  they  came  within  range.  In  the  British  ranks, 
not  a  trigger  was  pulled,  not  a  soldier  stirred ; 
and  their  ominous  composure  seemed  to  damp  the 
spirits  of  the  assailants.  It  was  not  till  the  French 
were  within  forty  yards  that  the  fatal  word  was 
given,  and  the  British  muskets  blazed  forth  at  once 
in  one  crashing  explosion.  Like  a  ship  at  full 
career,  arrested  with  sudden  ruin  on  a  sunken 
rock,  the  ranks  of  Montcalm  staggered,  shivered, 
and  broke  before  that  wasting  storm  of  lead.  The 
smoke,  rolling  along  the  field,  for  a  moment  shut 
out  the  view ;  but  when  the  white  wreaths  were 
scattered  on  the  wind,  a  wretched  spectacle  was 
disclosed  ;  men  and  officers  tumbled  in  heaps,  bat- 
talions resolved  into  a  mob,  order  and  obedience 
gone ;  and  when  the  British  muskets  were  levelled 
for  a  second  volley,  the  masses  of  the  militia  were 
seen  to  cower  and  shrink  with  uncontrollable  panic. 
For  a  few  minutes,  the  French  regulars  stood  their 
ground,  returning  a  sharp  and  not  ineff'ectual  fire. 
But  now,  echoing  cheer  on  cheer,  redoubling  vol- 
ley on  volley,  trampling  the  dying  and  the  dead, 
and  driving  the  fugitives  in  crowds,  the  British 
troops  advanced  and  swept  the  field  before  them. 


1759.]  DEATH   OF   WOLFE.  137 

The  ardor  of  the  men  burst  all  restraint.  They 
broke  into  a  run,  and  with  unsparing  slaughter 
chased  the  flying  multitude  to  the  gates  of  Quebec. 
Foremost  of  all,  the  light-footed  Highlanders  dashed 
along  in  furious  pursuit,  hewing  down  the  French- 
men w^ith  their  broadswords,  and  slaying  many 
in  the  very  ditch  of  the  fortifications.  Never  was 
victory  more  quick  or  more  decisive.^ 

In  the  short  action  and  pursuit,  the  French  lost 
fifteen  hundred  men,  killed,  wounded,  and  taken. 
Of  the  remainder,  some  escaped  within  the  city, 
and  others  fled  across  the  St.  Charles  to  rejoin  their 
comrades  who  had  been  left  to  guard  the  camp. 
The  pursuers  were  recalled  by  sound  of  trumpet ; 
the  broken  ranks  were  formed  afresh,  and  the  Ens:- 
lish  troops  withdrawn  beyond  reach  of  the  cannon 
of  Quebec.  Bougainville,  with  his  corps,  arrived 
from  the  upper  country,  and,  hovering  about  their 
rear,  threatened  an  attack ;  but  when  he  saw  what 
greeting  was  prepared  for  him,  he  abandoned  his 
purpose  and  withdrew.  Townshend  and  Murray, 
the  only  general  officers  who  remained  unhurt, 
passed  to  the  head  of  every  regiment  in  turn,  and 
thanked  the  soldiers  for  the  bravery  they  had 
shown  ;  yet  the  triumph  of  the  victors  was  min- 
gled with  sadness,  as  the  tidings  went  from  rank  to 
rank  that  Wolfe  had  fallen. 

In  the  heat  of  the  action,  as  he  advanced  at  the 
head  of  the  grenadiers  of  Louisburg,  a  bullet  shat- 

1  Despatch  of  General  Townshend,  Sept.  20.  Gardiner,  Memoirs  of  the 
Siege  of  Quebec,  28.  Journal  of  the  Siege  of  Quebec,  by  a  Gentleman  in  an 
Eminent  Station  on  the  Spot,  40.  Letter  to  a  Right  Honorable  Patriot  on  the 
Glorious  Success  of  Quebec.     Annual  Register  for  1759,  40. 


138  COLLISION   OF   THE   RIVAL    COLONIES.  [1759. 

tered  his  wrist ;  but  he  wrapped  his  handkerchief 
about  the  wound,  and  showed  no  sign  of  pain.  A 
moment  more,  and  a  ball  pierced  his  side.  Still 
he  pressed  forward,  waving  his  sword  and  cheer- 
ing his  soldiers  to  the  attack,  when  a  third  shot 
lodged  deep  within  his  breast.  He  paused,  reeled, 
and,  staggering  to  one  side,  fell  to  the  earth. 
Brown,  a  lieutenant  of  the  grenadiers,  Henderson, 
a  volunteer,  an  officer  of  artillery,  and  a  private 
soldier,  raised  him  together  in  their  arms,  and, 
bearing  him  to  the  rear,  laid  him  softly  on  the 
grass.  They  asked  if  he  would  have  a  surgeon  ; 
but  he  shook  his  head,  and  answered  that  all 
w^as  over  with  him.  His  eyes  closed  with  the 
torpor  of  approaching  death,  and  those  around 
sustained  his  fainting  form.  Yet  they  could  not 
withhold  their  gaze  from  the  wild  turmoil  before 
them,  and  the  charging  ranks  of  their  companions 
rushing  through  fire  and  smoke.  "  See  how  they 
run,"  one  of  the  officers  exclaimed,  as  the  French 
fled  in  confusion  before  the  levelled  bayonets. 
"Who  run]"  demanded  Wolfe,  opening  his  eyes 
like  a  man  aroused  from  sleep.  "  The  enemy, 
sir,"  was  the  reply ;  "  they  give  way  everywhere." 
"  Then,"  said  the  dying  general,  "  tell  Colonel 
Burton  to  march  Webb's  regiment  down  to  Charles 
River,  to  cut  off  their  retreat  from  the  bridge. 
Now,  God  be  praised,  I  will  die  in  peace,"  he  mur- 
mured ;  and,  turning  on  his  side,  he  calmly  breathed 
his  last.^ 

1  Knox,  II.  78.     Knox  derived  his  information  from  the  person  who 
supported  Wolfe  in  his  dying  moments. 


1759.]  DEATH   OF   MONTCALM.  139 

Almost  at  the  same  moment  fell  his  great  adver- 
sary, Montcalm,  as  he  strove,  with  vain  bravery, 
to  rally  his  shattered  ranks.  Struck  down  with 
a  mortal  wound,  he  was  placed  upon  a  litter  and 
borne  to  the  General  Hospital  on  the  banks  of  the 
St.  Charles.  The  surgeons  told  him  that  he  could 
not  recover.  "  I  am  glad  of  it,"  was  his  calm 
reply.  He  then  asked  how  long  he  might  survive, 
and  was  told  that  he  had  not  many  hours  remain- 
ing. "  So  much  the  better,"  he  said ;  "  I  am 
happy  that  I  shall  not  live  to  see  the  surrender  of 
Quebec."  Officers  from  the  garrison  came  to  his 
bedside  to  ask  his  orders  and  instructions.  "  I  will 
give  no  more  orders,"  replied  the  defeated  soldier ; 
"  I  have  much  business  that  must  be  attended  to, 
of  greater  moment  than  your  ruined  garrison  and 
this  wretched  country.  My  time  is  very  short ; 
therefore,  pray  leave  me."  The  officers  withdrew, 
and  none  remained  in  the  chamber  but  his  con- 
fessor and  the  Bishop  of  Quebec.  To  the  last,  he 
expressed  his  contempt  for  his  own  mutinous  and 
half-famished  troops,  and  his  admiration  for  the 
disciplined  valor  of  his  opponents.^  He  died 
before  midnight,  and  was  buried  at  his  own  desire 
in  a  cavity  of  the  earth  formed  by  the  bursting  of 
a  bombshell. 

The  victorious  army  encamped  before  Quebec, 
and  pushed  their  preparations  for  the  siege  with 
zealous  energy ;  but  before  a  single  gun  was 
brought  to  bear,  the  white  flag  was  hung  out,  and 

1  Knox,  II.  77. 


140         COLLISION  OF  THE  RIVAL  COLONIES.     [1759-1760. 

the  garrison  surrendered.  On  the  eighteenth  of 
September,  1759,  the  rock-built  citadel  of  Canada 
passed  forever  from  the  hands  of  its  ancient 
masters. 

The  victory  on  the  Plains  of  Abraham  and  the 
downfall  of  Quebec  filled  all  England  with  pride 
and  exultation.  From  north  to  south,  the  land 
blazed  with  illuminations,  and  resounded  with  the 
ringing  of  bells,  the  firing  of  guns,  and  the  shouts 
of  the  multitude.  In  one  village  alone  all  was 
dark  and  silent  amid  the  general  joy;  for  here 
dwelt  the  widowed  mother  of  Wolfe.  The  popu- 
lace, with  unwonted  delicacy,  respected  her  lonely 
sorrow,  and  forbore  to  obtrude  the  sound  of  their 
rejoicings  upon  her  grief  for  one  who  had  been 
through  life  her  pride  and  solace,  and  repaid  her 
love  with  a  tender  and  constant  devotion.^ 

Canada,  crippled  and  dismembered  by  the  dis- 
asters of  this  year's  campaign,  lay  waiting,  as  it 
were,  the  final  sti'oke  which  was  to  extinguish  her 
last  remains  of  life,  and  close  the  eventful  story 
of  French  dominion  in  America.  Her  limbs  and 
her  head  were  lopped  away,  but  life  still  fluttered 
at  her  heart.  Quebec,  Niagara,  Frontenac,  and 
Crown  Point  had  fallen ;  but  Montreal  and  the 
adjacent  country  still  held  out,  and  thither,  with 
the  opening  season  of  1760,  the  British  command- 
ers turned  all  their  energies.  Three  armies  were 
to  enter  Canada  at  three  several  points,  and,  con- 
quering as  they  advanced,  converge  towards  Mon- 

1  Annual  Register  for  1759,  43. 


1760]  SURRENDER  OF   QUEBEC.  141 

treal  as  a  common  centre.  In  accordance  with  this 
plan,  Sir  Jeffrey  Amherst  embarked  at  Oswego, 
crossed  Lake  Ontario,  and  descended  the  St.  Law- 
rence with  ten  thousand  men  ;  while  Colonel  Havi- 
land  advanced  by  way  of  Lake  Champlain  and  the 
River  Sorel,  and  General  Murray  ascended  from 
Quebec,  with  a  body  of  the  veterans  who  had 
fought  on  the  Plains  of  Abraham. 

By  a  singular  concurrence  of  fortune  and  skill, 
the  three  armies  reached  the  neighborhood  of 
Monti*eal  on  the  same  day.  The  feeble  and  dis- 
heartened garrison  could  offer  no  resistance,  and 
on  the  eighth  of  September,  1760,  the  Marquis 
de  Vaudreuil  surrendered  Canada,  with  all  its 
dependencies,  to  the  British  crown. 


CHAPTER    V. 

1755-1763. 

THE  WILDERNESS  AND  ITS  TENANTS  AT   THE   CLOSE 
OF   THE  FRENCH  WAR. 

We  have  already  seen  how,  after  the  defeat  of 
Braddock,  the  western  tribes  rose  with  one  accord 
against  the  English.  Then,  for  the  first  time, 
Pennsylvania  felt  the  scourge  of  Indian  war  ;  and 
her  neighbors,  Maryland  and  Virginia,  shared  her 
misery.  Through  the  autumn  of  1755,  the  storm 
raged  with  devastating  fury  ;  but  the  following  year 
brought  some  abatement  of  its  violence.  This  may 
be  ascribed  partly  to  the  interference  of  the  Iro- 
quois, who,  at  the  instances  of  Sir  William  Johnson, 
urged  the  Dela wares  to  lay  down  the  hatchet,  and 
partly  to  the  persuasions  of  several  prominent  men 
among  the  Quakers,  who,  by  kind  and  friendly 
treatment,  had  gained  the  confidence  of  the 
Indians.^  By  these  means,  that  portion  of  the 
Delawares  and  their  kindred  tribes  who  dwelt 
upon  the  Susquehanna,  were  induced  to  send  a 
deputation  of  chiefs  to  Easton,  in  the  summer  of 

1  Gordon,  Hist,  Pcnn.  321.  Causes  of  the  Alienation  a/the  Delaware  and 
Shawanese  Indians  from  the  British  Interest.     MS.  Johnson  Papers. 


1758]  THE   DELAWAllES  AND   SIIAWANOES.  143 

1757,  to  meet  the  provincial  delegates  ;  and  here, 
after  much  delay  and  difficulty,  a  treaty  of  peace 
was  concluded. 

This  treaty,  however,  did  not  embrace  the  Indians 
of  the  Ohio,  who  comprised  the  most  formidable 
part  of  the  Dela wares  and  Shawanoes,  and  who 
still  continued  their  murderous  attacks.  It  was 
not  till  the  summer  of  1758,  when  General  Forbes, 
with  a  considerable  army,  was  advancing  against 
Fort  du  Quesne,  that  these  exasperated  savages 
could  be  brought  to  reason.  Well  knowing  that, 
should  Forbes  prove  successful,  they  might  expect 
a  summary  chastisement  for  their  misdeeds,  they 
began  to  waver  in  their  attachment  to  the  French ; 
and  the  latter,  in  the  hour  of  peril,  found  them- 
selves threatened  with  desertion  by  allies  who  had 
shown  an  ample  alacrity  in  the  season  of  prosperity. 
This  new  tendency  of  the  Ohio  Indians  was  fos- 
tered by  a  wise  step  on  the  part  of  the  English.  A 
man  was  found  bold  and  hardy  enough  to  venture 
into  the  midst  of  their  villages,  bearing  the  news 
of  the  treaty  at  Easton,  and  the  approach  of 
Forbes,  coupled  with  proposals  of  peace  from  the 
governor  of  Pennsylvania. 

This  stout-hearted  emissary  was  Christian  Fred- 
eric Post,  a  Moravian  missionary,  who  had  long 
lived  with  the  Indians,  had  twice  married  among 
them,  and,  by  his  upright  dealings  and  plain  good 
sense,  had  gained  their  confidence  and  esteem. 
His  devout  and  conscientious  spirit,  his  fidelity  to 
what  he  deemed  his  duty,  his  imperturbable  cour- 
age, his  prudence  and  his  address,  well  fitted  him 


144  THE  WILDERNESS  AND  ITS  TENANTS.  [1758 

for  the  critical  mission.  His  journals,  written  in 
a  style  of  quaint  simplicity,  are  full  of  lively 
details,  and  afford  a  curious  picture  of  forest  life 
and  character.  He  left  Philadelphia  in  July, 
attended  by  a  party  of  friendly  Indians,  on  whom 
he  relied  for  protection.  Reaching  the  Ohio,  he 
found  himself  beset  with  perils  from  the  jealousy 
and  malevolence  of  the  savage  warriors,  and  the 
machinations  of  the  French,  who  would  gladly 
have  destroved  him.^     Yet  he  found  friends  where- 


1  The  following  are  extracts  from  his  journals  :  — 

"  We  set  out  from  Kuslikushkee  for  Sankonk ;  my  company  consisted 
of  twenty-five  horsemen  and  fifteen  foot.  We  arrived  at  Sankonk  in  the 
afternoon.  The  people  of  the  town  were  much  disturbed  at  my  coming, 
and  received  me  in  a  very  rough  manner.  They  surrounded  me  with 
drawn  knives  in  their  hands,  in  such  a  manner  that  I  could  hardly  get 
along  ;  running  up  against  me  with  their  breasts  open,  as  if  they  wanted 
some  pretence  to  kill  me.  I  saw  by  their  countenances  they  sought  my 
death.  Their  faces  were  quite  distorted  with  rage,  and  they  went  so  far 
as  to  say,  I  should  not  live  long ;  but  some  Indians,  with  whom  I  was 
formerly  acquainted,  coming  up  and  saluting  me  in  a  friendly  manner, 
their  behavior  to  me  was  quickly  changed."  ..."  Some  of  my  party 
desired  me  not  to  stir  from  the  fire,  for  that  the  French  had  offered  a 
great  reward  for  my  scalp,  and  that  there  were  several  parties  out  on  that 
purpose.  Acccordingly  I  stuck  constantly  as  close  to  the  fire  as  if  I  had 
been  chained  there.  .  .  . 

"  In  the  afternoon,  all  the  captains  gathered  together  in  the  middle 
town  ;  they  sent  for  us,  and  desired  we  should  give  them  information  of 
our  message.  Accordingly  we  did.  We  read  the  message  with  great 
satisfaction  to  them.  It  was  a  great  pleasure  both  to  them  and  us.  The 
number  of  captains  and  counsellors  were  sixteen.  In  the  evening,  mes- 
sengers arrived  from  Fort  Duquesne,  with  a  string  of  wampum  from  the 
commander ;  upon  which  they  all  came  together  in  the  house  where  we 
lodged.  The  messengers  delivered  their  string,  with  these  words  from 
their  father,  the  French  king  :  — 

" '  My  children,  come  to  me,  and  hear  what  I  have  to  say.  The  Eng- 
lish are  coming  with  an  array  to  destroy  both  you  and  me.  I  therefore 
desire  you  immediately,  my  children,  to  hasten  with  all  the  young  men ; 
we  will  drive  the  English  and  destroy  them.  I,  as  a  father,  will  tell  you 
always  what  is  best.'  He  laid  the  sti-ing  before  one  of  the  captains. 
After  a  little  conversation,  the  captain  stood  up,  and  said,  '  I  have  just 


1758.]  WESTERN  INDIANS.  145 

ever  he  went,  and  finally  succeeded  in  convincing 
the  Indians  that  their  true  interest  lay  in  a  strict 
neutrality.  When,  therefore,  Forbes  appeared 
before  Fort  du  Quesne,  the  French  found  them- 
selves abandoned  to  their  own  resources ;  and, 
unable  to  hold  their  ground,  they  retreated  down 
the  Ohio,  leaving  the  fort  an  easy  conquest  to  the 
invaders.  During  the  autumn,  the  Ohio  Indians 
sent  their  deputies  to  Easton,  where  a  great  council 
was  held,  and  a  formal  peace  concluded  with  the 
provinces.^ 

While  the  friendship  of  these  tribes  was  thus 
lost  and  regained,  their  ancient  tyrants,  the  Iro- 
quois, remained  in  a  state  of  very  doubtful  attach- 
ment. At  the  outbreak  of  the  war,  they  had 
shown,  it  is  true,  many  signs  of  friendship  ;  ^  but 
the  disasters  of  the  first  campaign  had  given  them 

heard  something  of  our  brethren,  the  Enghsh,  which  pleaseth  me  much 
better.  I  will  not  go.  Give  it  to  the  others  ;  maybe  they  will  go.'  The 
messenger  took  up  again  the  string,  and  said,  '  He  won't  go ;  he  has 
heard  of  the  English.'  Then  all  cried  out,  '  Yes,  yes,  we  have  heard 
from  the  English.'  He  then  threw  the  string  to  the  other  fireplace,  where 
the  other  captains  were ;  but  they  kicked  it  from  one  to  another,  as  if  it 
was  a  snake.  Captain  Peter  took  a  stick,  and  with  it  flung  the  string 
from  one  end  of  the  room  to  the  other,  and  said,  '  Give  it  to  the  French 
captain,  and  let  him  go  with  his  young  men  ;  he  boasted  much  of  his 
fighting;  now  let  us  see  his  fighting.  We  have  often  ventured  our  lives 
for  him ;  and  had  hardly  a  loaf  of  bread  -when  we  came  to  him ;  and  now 
he  thinks  we  should  jump  to  serve  him.'  Then  we  saw  the  French  cap- 
tain mortified  to  the  uttermost ;  he  looked  as  pale  as  death.  The  Indians 
discoursed  and  joked  till  midnight ;  and  the  French  captain  sent  messen- 
gers at  midnight  to  Fort  Duquesne." 

The  kicking  about  of  the  wampum  belt  is  the  usual  indication  of  con- 
tempt for  the  message  of  which  the  belt  is  the  token.  The  uses  of  wam- 
pum will  be  described  hereafter. 

1  Minutes  of  Council  at  Easton,  1758. 

2  Account  of  Conferences  between  Major-  General  Sir  W.  Johnson  and  the 
Chief  Sachems  and  Warriors  of  the  Six  Nations  (Lond.  1756). 

10 


146  THE  WILDERNESS  AND  ITS  TENANTS.     [1758-1760. 

a  contemptible  idea  of  British  prowess.  This 
impression  was  deepened,  when,  in  the  following 
year,  they  saw  Oswego  taken  by  the  French,  and 
the  British  general,  Webb,  retreat  with  dastardly 
haste  from  an  enemy  who  did  not  dream  of  pursu- 
ing him.  At  this  time,  some  of  the  confederates 
actually  took  up  the  hatchet  on  the  side  of  France, 
and  there  was  danger  that  the  rest  might  follow 
their  example.^  But  now  a  new  element  was 
infused  into  the  British  counsels.  The  fortunes 
of  the  conflict  began  to  change.  Du  Quesne  and 
Louisburg  were  taken,  and  the  Iroquois  conceived 
a  better  opinion  of  the  British  arms.  Their  friend- 
ship was  no  longer  a  matter  of  doubt ;  and  in  1760, 
when  Amherst  was  preparing  to  advance  on  Mon- 
treal, the  warriors  flocked  to  his  camp  like  vultures 
to  the  carcass.  Yet  there  is  little  doubt,  that,  had 
their  sachems  and  orators  followed  the  dictates  of 
their  cooler  judgment,  they  would  not  have  aided 
in  destroying  Canada  ;  for  they  could  see  that  in 
the  colonies  of  France  lay  the  only  barrier  against 
the  growing  power  and  ambition  of  the  English 
provinces. 

The  Hurons  of  Lorette,  the  Abenakis,  and 
other  domiciliated  tribes  of  Canada,  ranged  them- 
selves ,on  the  side  of  France  throughout  the  war ; 
and  at  its  conclusion,  they,  in  common  with  the 
Canadians,  may  be  regarded  in  the  light  of  a  con- 
quered people. 

The  numerous  tribes  of  the  remote  west  had, 
with   few  exceptions,   played   the   part  of   active 

1  MS.  Johnson  Papers. 


1760.]  THE  FOREST.  147 

allies  of  the  French ;  and  warriors  might  be 
found  on  the  farthest  shores  of  Lake  Superior  who 
garnished  their  war-dress  with  the  scalp-locks  of 
murdered  Englishmen.  With  the  conquest  of 
Canada,  these  tribes  subsided  into  a  state  of  inac- 
tion, which  was  not  long  to  continue. 

And  now,  before  launching  into  the  story  of  the 
sanguinary  war  which  forms  our  proper  and  imme- 
diate theme,  it  will  be  well  to  survey  the  grand 
arena  of  the  strife,  the  goodly  heritage  which  the 
wretched  tribes  of  the  forest  struggled  to  retrieve 
from  the  hands  of  the  spoiler. 

One  vast,  continuous  forest  shadowed  the  fertile 
soil,  covering  the  land  as  the  grass  covers  a  garden 
lawn,  sweeping  over  hill  and  hollow  in  endless 
undulation,  burying  mountains  in  verdure,  and 
mantling  brooks  and  rivers  from  the  light  of  day. 
Green  intervals  dotted  with  browsing  deer,  and 
broad  plains  alive  with  buffalo,  broke  the  same- 
ness of  the  woodland  scenery.  Unnumbered  rivers 
seamed  the  forest  with  their  devious  windings. 
Vast  lakes  washed  its  boundaries,  where  the  Indian 
voyager,  in  his  birch  canoe,  could  descry  no  land 
beyond  the  world  of  waters.  Yet  this  prolific 
wilderness,  teeming  with  waste  fertility,  was  but  a 
hunting-ground  and  a  battle-field  to  a  few  fierce 
hordes  of  savages.  Here  and  there,  in  some  rich 
meadow  opened  to  the  sun,  the  Indian  squaws 
turned  the  black  mould  with  their  rude  imple- 
ments of  bone  or  iron,  and  sowed  their  scanty 
stores  of  maize  and  beans.  Human  labor  drew  no 
other  tribute  from  that  exhaustless  soil. 


148  THE  WILDERNESS  AKD  ITS  TENANTS.     [1760-1763. 

So  thin  and  scattered  was  the  native  population, 
that,  even  in  those  parts  which  were  thought  well 
peopled,  one  might  sometimes  journey  for  days 
together  through  the  twilight  forest,  and  meet  no 
human  form.  Broad  tracts  were  left  in  solitude. 
All  Kentucky  was  a  vacant  waste,  a  mere  skirmish- 
ing ground  for  the  hostile  war-parties  of  the  north 
and  south.  A  great  part  of  Upper  Canada,  of 
Michigan,  and  of  Illinois,  besides  other  portions 
of  the  west,  were  tenanted  by  wild  beasts  alone. 
To  form  a  close  estimate  of  the  numbers  of  the 
erratic  bands  who  roamed  this  wilderness  would 
be  impossible  ;  but  it  may  be  affirmed  that,  be- 
tween the  Mississippi  on  the  west  and  the  ocean 
on  the  east,  between  the  Ohio  on  the  south  and 
Lake  Superior  on  the  north,  the  whole  Indian 
population,  at  the  close  of  the  French  war,  did 
not  greatly  exceed  ten  thousand  lighting  men. 
Of  these,  following  the  statement  of  Sir  William 
Johnson,  in  1763,  the  Iroquois  had  nineteen  hun- 
dred and  fifty,  the  Delawares  about  six  hundred, 
the  Shawanoes  about  three  hundred,  the  Wyandots 
about  four  hundred  and  fifty,  and  the  Miami  tribes, 
with  their  neighbors  the  Kickapoos,  eight  hun- 
dred ;  while  the  Ottawas,  the  Ojibwas,  and  other 
wandering  tribes  of  the  north,  defy  all  eff'orts  at 
enumeration.^ 

A  close  survey  of  the  condition  of  the  tribes  at 
this  period  will  detect  some  signs  of  improvement, 

1  The  estimates  given  by  Croghan,  Bouquet,  and  Hutchins,  do  not 
quite  accord  with  that  of  Johnson.  But  the  discrepancy  is  no  greater 
than  might  have  been  expected  from  the  difficulties  of  the  case. 


1760-1763.]  NATIVE  POPULATION.  149 

but  many  more  of  degeneracy  and  decay.  To 
commence  with  the  Iroquois,  for  to  them  with  jus- 
tice the  priority  belongs :  Onondaga,  the  ancient 
capital  of  their  confederacy,  where  their  council- 
fire  had  burned  from  immemorial  time,  was  now 
no  longer  what  it  had  been  in  the  days  of  its  great- 
ness, when  Count  Frontenac  had  mustered  all 
Canada  to  assail  it.  The  thickly  clustered  dwell- 
ings, with  their  triple  rows  of  palisades,  had  van- 
ished. A  little  stream,  twisting  along  the  valley, 
choked  up  with  logs  and  driftwood,  and  half  hid- 
den by  woods  and  thickets,  some  forty  houses  of 
bark,  scattered  along  its  banks,  amid  rank  grass, 
neglected  clumps  of  bushes,  and  ragged  patches 
of  corn  and  peas,  —  such  was  Onondaga  when 
Bartram  saw  it,  and  such,  no  doubt,  it  remained  at 
the  time  of  w^hich  I  write. ^  Conspicuous  among 
the  other  structures,  and  distinguished  only  by  its 
superior  size,  stood  the  great  council-house,  whose 
bark  walls  had  often  sheltered  the  congregated 
wisdom  of  the  confederacy,  and  heard  the  highest 
efforts  of  forest  eloquence.  The  other  villages  of 
the  Iroquois  resembled  Onondaga  ;  for  though  sev- 
eral were  of  larger  size,  yet  none  retained  those 
defensive  stockades  which  had  once  protected  them.^ 
From  their  European  neighbors  the  Iroquois  had 
borrowed  many  appliances  of  comfort  and  subsist- 
ence.    Horses,  swine,  and  in  some  instances  cattle, 

1  Bartram,  Observations,  41. 

'^  I  am  indebted  to  the  kindness  of  Rev.  S.  K.  Lothrop  for  a  copy  of 
the  journal  of  Mr.  Kirkland  on  his  missionary  tour  among  the  Iroquois 
in  1765.  The  journal  contains  much  information  respecting  their  man- 
ners and  condition  at  this  period. 


150  THE  WILDERNESS  AND  ITS  TENANTS.     [1760-1763. 

were  to  be  found  among  them.  Guns  and  gun- 
powder aided  them  in  the  chase.  Knives,  hatchets, 
kettles,  and  hoes  of  iron,  had  supplanted  their  rude 
household  utensils  and  implements  of  tillage  ;  but 
with  all  this,  English  whiskey  had  more  than  can- 
celled every  benefit  which  English  civilization  had 
conferred. 

High  up  the  Susquehanna  were  seated  the  Nanti- 
cokes,  Conoys,  and  Mohicans,  with  a  portion  of  the 
Delawares.  Detached  bands  of  the  western  Iro- 
quois dwelt  upon  the  head  waters  of  the  Alle- 
ghany, mingled  with  their  neighbors,  the  Delawares, 
who  had  several  villages  upon  this  stream.  The 
great  body  of  the  latter  nation,  however,  lived 
upon  the  Beaver  Creeks  and  the  Muskingum,  in 
numerous  scattered  towns  and  hamlets,  whose  bar- 
barous names  it  is  useless  to  record.  Squalid  log 
cabins  and  conical  wigwams  of  bark  were  clustered 
at  random,  or  ranged  to  form  rude  streets  and 
squares.  Starveling  horses  grazed  on  the  neigh- 
boring meadows  ;  girls  and  children  bathed  and 
laughed  in  the  adjacent  river ;  warriors  smoked 
their  pipes  in  haughty  indolence ;  squaws  labored 
in  the  cornfields,  or  brought  fagots  from  the  forest, 
and  shrivelled  hags  screamed  from  lodge  to  lodge. 
In  each  village  one  large  building  stood  prominent 
among  the  rest,  devoted  to  purposes  of  public 
meeting,  dances,  festivals,  and  the  entertainment 
of  strangers.  Thither  the  traveller  would  be  con- 
ducted, seated  on  a  bear-skin,  and  plentifully 
regaled  with  hominy  and  venison. 

The  Shawanoes  had  sixteen  small  villages  upon 


1760-1763.]  NATIVE   POPULATION.  151 

the  Scioto  and  its  branches.  Farther  towards  the 
west,  on  the  waters  of  the  Wabash  and  the 
Maumee,  dwelt  the  Miamis,  who,  less  exposed, 
from  their  position,  to  the  poison  of  the  whiskey- 
keg,  and  the  example  of  debauched  traders,  re- 
tained their  ancient  character  and  customs  in 
greater  purity  than  their  eastern  neighbors.  This 
cannot  be  said  of  the  Illinois,  who  dwelt  near  the 
borders  of  the  Mississippi,  and  who,  having  lived 
for  more  than  half  a  century  in  close  contact  with 
the  French,  had  become  a  corrupt  and  degenerate 
race.  The  Wyandots  of  Sandusky  and  Detroit  far 
surpassed  the  surrounding  tribes  in  energy  of 
character  and  in  social  progress.  Their  log  dwell- 
ings were  strong  and  commodious,  their  agriculture 
was  very  considerable,  their  name  stood  high  in 
war  and  policy,  and  they  were  regarded  with 
deference  by  all  the  adjacent  Indians.  It  is  need- 
less to  pursue  farther  this  catalogue  of  tribes, 
since  the  position  of  each  will  appear  hereafter  as 
they  advance  in  turn  upon  the  stage  of  action. 

The  English  settlements  lay  like  a  narrow  strip 
between  the  wilderness  and  the  sea,  and,  as  the  sea 
had  its  ports,  so  also  the  forest  had  its  places  of 
rendezvous  and  outfit.  Of  these,  by  far  the  most 
important  in  the  northern  provinces  was  the  frontier 
city  of  Albany.  From  thence  it  was  that  traders 
and  soldiers,  bound  to  the  country  of  the  Iroquois, 
or  the  more  distant  wilds  of  the  interior,  set  out 
upon  their  arduous  journey.  Embarking  in  a 
bateau  or  a  canoe,  rowed  by  the  hardy  men  who 
earned  their  livelihood  in  this  service,  the  traveller 


152  THE  WILDERNESS  AND  ITS  TENANTS.     [1760-1763. 

would  ascend  the  Mohawk,  passmg  the  old  Dutch 
town  of  Schenectady,  the  two  seats  of  Sir  William 
Johnson,  Fort  Hunter  at  the  mouth  of  the  Scoharie, 
and  Fort  Herkimer  at  the  German  Flats,  until  he 
reached  Fort  Stanwix  at  the  head  of  the  river 
navigation.  Then  crossing  over  land  to  Wood 
Creek,  he  would  follow  its  tortuous  course,  over- 
shadowed by  the  dense  forest  on  its  banks,  until 
he  arrived  at  the  little  fortification  called  the  Royal 
Blockhouse,  and  the  waters  of  the  Oneida  Lake 
spread  before  him.  Crossing  to  its  western  ex- 
tremity, and  passing  under  the  wooden  ramparts 
of  Fort  Brewerton,  he  would  descend  the  River 
Oswego  to  Oswego,^  on  the  banks  of  Lake  Ontario. 
Here  the  vast  navigation  of  the  Great  Lakes  would 

1  MS.  Journal  of  Lieutenant  Gorell,  17C3.  Anonymous  MS.  Journal  of  a 
Tour  to  Niagara  in  1765.     The  following  is  an  extract  from  the  latter:  — 

"July  2d.  Dined  with  Sir  Wm.  at  Johnson  Hall.  The  office  of 
Superintendent  very  troublesome.  Sir  Wm.  continually  plagued  with 
Indians  about  him  —  generally  from  300  to  900  in  number  —  spoil  his 
garden,  and  keep  his  house  always  dirty.  .  .  . 

"  10th.  Punted  and  rowed  up  the  Mofhawk  River  against  the  stream, 
which,  on  account  of  the  rapidity  of  the  current,  is  \ery  hard  work  for 
the  poor  soldiers.  Encamped  on  the  banks  of  the  river,  about  9  miles 
from  Harkimer's. 

"  The  inconveniences  attending  a  married  Subaltern  strongly  appear  in 
this  tour.  What  with  the  sickness  of  their  wives,  the  squeahng  of  their 
children,  and  the  smallness  of  their  pay,  I  think  the  gentlemen  discover  no 
common  share  of  philosophy  in  keeping  themselves  from  running  mad. 
Officers  and  soldiers,  with  their  waves  and  children,  legitimate  and  ille- 
gitimate, make  altogether  a  pretty  compound  oglio,  which  does  not  tend 
towards  showing  military  matrimony  off  to  any  great  advantage.  .  .  • 

"  Monday,  14th.  Went  on  horseback  by  the  side  of  Wood  Creek,  20 
miles,  to  the  Royal  Blockhouse,  a  kind  of  wooden  castle,  proof  against 
any  Indian  attacks.  It  is  now  abandoned  by  the  troops,  and  a  sutler 
lives  there,  who  keeps  rum,  milk,  rackoons,  etc.,  which,  though  none  of 
the  most  elegant,  is  comfortable  to  strangers  passing  that  way.  The 
Blockhouse  is  situated  on  the  east  end  of  the  Oneida  Lake,  and  is  sur- 
rounded by  the  Oneida  Indians,  one  of  the  Six  Nations." 


1760-1763.]  THE  FUR  TRADERS.  153 

be  open  before  him,  interrupted  only  by  the  difficult 
portage  at  the  Cataract  of  Niagara. 

The  chief  thoroughfare  from  the  middle  colonies 
to  the  Indian  country  was  from  Philadelphia  west- 
ward, across  the  Alleghanies,  to  the  valley  of  the 
Ohio.  Peace  was  no  sooner  concluded  with  the 
hostile  tribes,  than  the  adventurous  fur-traders, 
careless  of  risk  to  life  and  property,  hastened 
over  the  mountains,  each  eager  to  be  foremost  in 
the  wilderness  market.  Their  merchandise  was 
sometimes  carried  in  wagons  as  far  as  the  site  of 
Fort  du  Quesne,  which  the  English  rebuilt  after  its 
capture,  changing  its  name  to  Fort  Pitt.  From 
this  point  the  goods  were  packed  on  the  backs 
of  horses,  and  thus  distributed  among  the  various 
Indian  villages.  More  commonly,  however,  the 
whole  journey  was  performed  by  means  of  trains, 
or,  as  they  were  called,  brigades  of  packhorses, 
which,  leaving  the  frontier  settlements,  climbed  the 
shadowy  heights  of  the  Alleghanies,  and  threaded 
the  forests  of  the  Ohio,  diving  through  thickets, 
and  wading  over  streams.  The  men  employed  in 
this  perilous  calling  were  a  rough,  bold,  and 
intractable  class,  often  as  fierce  and  truculent  as 
the  Indians  themselves.  A  blanket  coat,  or  a 
frock  of  smoked  deer-skin,  a  rifle  on  the  shoulder, 
and  a  knife  and  tomahawk  in  the  belt,  formed 
their  ordinary  equipment.  The  principal  trader, 
the  owner  of  the  merchandise,  would  fix  his  head- 
quarters at  some  large  Indian  town,  whence  he 
would  despatch  his  subordinates  to  the  surrounding 
villages,  with  a  suitable   supply  of  blankets   and 


154  THE  WILDERNESS  AND  ITS  TENANTS.     [1760-1763. 

red  cloth,  guns  and  hatchets,  liquor,  tobacco,  paint, 
beads,  and  hawks'  bells.  This  wild  traffic  was 
liable  to  every  species  of  disorder ;  and  it  is  not  to 
be  wondered  at  that,  in  a  region  where  law  was 
unknown,  the  jealousies  of  rival  traders  should 
become  a  fruitful  source  of  broils,  robberies,  and 
murders. 

In  the  backwoods,  all  land  travelling  was  on 
foot,  or  on  horseback.  It  was  no  easy  matter  for 
a  novice,  embarrassed  with  his  cumbrous  gun,  to 
urge  his  horse  through  the  thick  trunks  and  under- 
growth, or  even  to  ride  at  speed  along  the  narrow 
Indian  trails,  where  at  every  yard  the  impending 
branches  switched  him  across  the  face.  At  night, 
the  camp  would  be  formed  by  the  side  of  some 
rivulet  or  spring ;  and,  if  the  traveller  was  skilful 
in  the  use  of  his  rifle,  a  haunch  of  venison  would 
often  form  his  evening  meal.  If  it  rained,  a  shed 
of  elm  or  bass-wood  bark  was  the  ready  work  of 
an  hour,  a  pile  of  evergreen  boughs  formed  a  bed, 
and  the  saddle  or  the  knapsack  a  pillow.  A  party 
of  Indian  wayfarers  would  often  be  met  journeying 
through  the  forest,  a  chief,  or  a  warrior,  perhaps, 
with  his  squaws  and  family.  The  Indians  would 
usually  make  their  camp  in  the  neighborhood  of 
the  white  men ;  and  at  meal-time  the  warrior 
would  seldom  fail  to  seat  himself  by  the  traveller's 
fire,  and  gaze  with  solemn  gravity  at  the  viands 
before  him.  If,  when  the  repast  was  over,  a  frag- 
ment of  bread  or  a  cup  of  coffee  should  be  handed 
to  him,  he  would  receive  these  highly  prized 
rarities    with    an    ejaculation    of    gratitude ;     for 


1760-17G3.]  THE   FOREST   TRAVELLER.  155 

nothing  is  more  remarkable  in  the  character  of 
this  people  than  the  union  of  inordinate  pride  and 
a  generous  love  of  glory  with  the  mendicity  of  a 
beggar  or  a  child. 

He  who  wished  to  visit  the  remoter  tribes  of  the 
Mississippi  valley  —  an  attempt,  however,  which, 
until  several  years  after  the  conquest  of  Canada, 
no  Englishman  could  have  made  without  great 
risk  of  losing  his  scalp  —  would  find  no  easier 
course  than  to  descend  the  Ohio  in  a  canoe  or 
bateau.  He  might  float  for  more  than  eleven 
hundred  miles  down  this  liquid  highway  of  the 
wilderness,  and,  except  the  deserted  cabins  of 
Logsto^vn,  a  little  below  Fort  Pitt,  the  remnant 
of  a  Shawanoe  village  at  the  mouth  of  the  Scioto, 
and  an  occasional  hamlet  or  solitary  wigwam  along 
the  deeply  wooded  banks,  he  would  discern  no 
trace  of  human  habitation  through  all  this  vast 
extent.  The  body  of  the  Indian  population  lay 
to  the  northward,  about  the  waters  of  the  tributary 
streams.  It  behooved  the  voyager  to  observe  a  sleep- 
less caution  and  a  hawk-eyed  vigilance.  Some- 
times his  anxious  scrutiny  would  detect  a  faint 
blue  smoke  stealing  upward  above  the  green  bosom 
of  the  forest,  and  betraying  the  encamping  place  of 
some  lurking  war-party.  Then  the  canoe  would 
be  drawn  in  haste  beneath  the  overhanging  bushes 
which  skirted  the  shore  ;  nor  would  the  voyage  be 
resumed  until  darkness  closed,  when  the  little 
vessel  would  drift  swiftly  and  safely  by  the  point 
of  danger.^ 

1  Mitchell,  Contest  in  America.     Pouchot,  Guerre  de  VAm&ique.     Expe- 
dition against  the  Ohio  Indians,  appendix.     Hutchins,  Topographical  Descrip- 


156  THE  WILDERNESS  AND  ITS  TENANTS.     [1760-1763 

Within  the  nominal  limits  of  the  Illinois  Indians, 
and  towards  the  southern  extremity  of  the  present 
state  of  Illinois,  were  those  isolated  Canadian  set- 
tlements, which  had  subsisted  here  since  the  latter 
part  of  the  preceding  century.  Kaskaskia,  Caho- 
kia,  and  Vincennes  were  the  centres  of  this  scat- 
tered population.  From  Vincennes  one  might 
paddle  his  canoe  northward  up  the  Wabash,  until 
he  reached  the  little  wooden  fort  of  Ouatanon. 
Thence  a  path  through  the  woods  led  to  the  banks 
of  the  Maumee.  Two  or  three  Canadians,  or  half- 
breeds,  of  whom  there  were  numbers  about  the  fort, 
would  carry  the  canoe  on  their  shoulders,  or,  for  a 
bottle  of  whiskey,  a  few  Miami  Indians  might  be 
bribed  to  undertake  the  task.  On  the  Maumee,  at 
the  end  of  the  path,  stood  Fort  Miami,  near  the 
spot  where  Fort  Wayne  was  afterwards  built. 
From  this  point  one  might  descend  the  Maumee  to 
Lake  Erie,  and  visit  the  neighboring  fort  of  San- 
dusky, or,  if  he  chose,  steer  through  the  Strait  of 
Detroit,  and  explore  the  watery  wastes  of  the 
northern  lakes,  finding  occasional  harborage  at  the 
little  military  posts  which  commanded  their  impor- 
tant points.  Most  of  these  western  posts  were 
transferred  to  the  English,  during  the  autumn  of 
1760  ;  but  the  settlements  of  the  Illinois  remained 
several  years  longer  under  French  control. 

Eastward,  on  the  waters  of  Lake  Erie,  and  the 
Alleghany,  stood  three  small  forts,  Presqu  Isle,  Le 

tion  of  Virginia,  etc.  Pownall,  Topographical  Description  of  North  America. 
Evans,  Analysis  of  a  Map  of  the  Middle  British  Colonies.  Beatty,  Journal  of 
a  Tour  in  America..  Smith,  Narrative.  M'Cullough,  Narrative.  Jemmison, 
Narrative.  Post,  Journals.  Washington,  Journals,  1753-1770.  Gist, 
Journal,  1750.     Croghan,  Journal,  1765,  etc.,  etc. 


1760-1763.]  THE   FOREST   GARRISONS.  157 

Boeuf,  and  Venango,  which  had  passed  into  the 
hands  of  the  English  soon  after  the  capture  of 
Fort  du  Quesne.  The  feeble  garrisons  of  all  these 
western  posts,  exiled  from  civilization,  lived  in  the 
solitude  of  military  hermits.  Through  the  long, 
hot  days  of  summer,  and  the  protracted  cold  of 
winter,  time  hung  heavy  on  their  hands.  Their 
resources  of  employment  and  recreation  were  few 
and  meagre.  They  found  partners  in  their  loneli- 
ness among  the  young  beauties  of  the  Indian  camps. 
They  hunted  and  fished,  shot  at  targets,  and  played 
at  games  of  chance ;  and  when,  by  good  fortune,  a 
traveller  found  his  way  among  them,  he  was  greeted 
with  a  hearty  and  open-handed  welcome,  and  plied 
with  eager  questions  touching  the  great  world  from 
which  they  were  banished  men.  Yet,  tedious  as  it 
was,  their  secluded  life  w^as  seasoned  wdth  stirring 
danger.  The  surrounding  forests  were  peopled 
with  a  race  dark  and  subtle  as  their  own  sunless 
mazes.  At  any  hour,  those  jealous  tribes  might 
raise  the  war-cry.  No  human  foresight  could  pre- 
dict the  sallies  of  their  fierce  caprice,  and  in  cease- 
less watching  lay  the  only  safety. 

When  the  European  and  the  savage  are  brought 
in  contact,  both  are  gainers,  and  both  are  losers. 
The  former  loses  the  refinements  of  civilization, 
but  he  gains,  in  the  rough  schooling  of  the  wil- 
derness, a  rugged  independence,  a  self-sustaining 
energy,  and  powers  of  action  and  perception  before 
unthought  of.  The  savage  gains  new  means  of 
comfort  and  support,  cloth,  iron,  and  gunpowder ; 
yet  these  apparent  benefits  have  often  proved  but 


158  THE  WILDERNESS  AND  ITS  TENANTS.     [1760-1763. 

instruments  of  ruin.  They  soon  become  necessi- 
ties, and  the  unhappy  hunter,  forgetting  the  wea- 
pons of  his  fathers,  must  thenceforth  depend  on  the 
white  man  for  ease,  happiness,  and  life  itself. 

Those  rude  and  hardy  men,  hunters  and  traders, 
scouts  and  guides,  who  ranged  the  woods  beyond 
the  English  borders,  and  formed  a  connecting  link 
between  barbarism  and  civilization,  have  been 
touched  upon  already.  They  were  a  distinct, 
peculiar  class,  marked  with  striking  contrasts  of 
good  and  evil.  Many,  though  by  no  means  all, 
were  coarse,  audacious,  and  unscrupulous ;  yet, 
even  in  the  worst,  one  might  often  have  found  a 
vigorous  growth  of  warlike  virtues,  an  iron  endur- 
ance, an  undespairing  courage,  a  wondrous  sagacity, 
and  singular  fertility  of  resource.  In  them  was 
renewed,  with  all  its  ancient  energy,  that  wild  and 
daring  spirit,  that  force  and  hardihood  of  mind, 
which  marked  our  barbarous  ancestors  of  Germany 
and  Norway.  These  sons  of  the  wilderness  still 
survive.  We  may  find  them  to  this  day,  not  in  the 
valley  of  the  Ohio,  nor  on  the  shores  of  the  lakes, 
but  far  westward  on  the  desert  range  of  the  buffalo, 
and  among  the  solitudes  of  Oregon.  Even  now, 
while  I  write,  some  lonely  trapper  is  climbing  the 
perilous  defiles  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  his  strong 
frame  cased  in  time-worn  buck-skin,  his  rifle  griped 
in  his  sinewy  hand.  Keenly  he  peers  from  side  to 
side,  lest  Blackfoot  or  Arapahoe  should  ambuscade 
his  path.  The  rough  earth  is  his  bed,  a  morsel  of 
dried  meat  and  a  draught  of  water  are  his  food  and 
drink,  and  death  and  danger  his  companions.     No 


1760-1763.]  THE   PRACTISED    WOODSMAN.  159 

anchorite  could  fare  worse,  no'  hero  could  dare 
more  ;  yet  his  wild,  hard  life  has  resistless  charms  ; 
and,  while  he  can  wield  a  rifle,  he  will  never  leave 
it.  Go  with  him  to  the  rendezvous,  and  he  is  a 
stoic  no  more.  Here,  rioting  among  his  comrades, 
his  native  appetites  break  loose  in  mad  excess,  in 
deep  carouse,  and  desperate  gaming.  Then  follow 
close  the  quarrel,  the  challenge,  the  fight,  ■ —  two 
rusty  rifles  and  fifty  yards  of  prairie. 

The  nursling  of  civilization,  placed  in  the  midst 
of  the  forest,  and  abandoned  to  his  own  resources, 
is  helpless  as  an  infant.  There  is  no  clew  to  the 
labyrinth.  Bewildered  and  amazed,  he  circles 
round  and  round  in  hopeless  wanderings.  Despair 
and  famine  make  him  their  prey,  and  unless  the 
birds  of  heaven  minister  to  his  wants,  he  dies  in 
misery.  Not  so  the  practised  woodsman.  To  him, 
the  forest  is  a  home.  It  yields  him  food,  shelter, 
and  •  raiment,  and  he  threads  its  trackless  depths 
with  undeviating  foot.  To  lure  the  game,  to  cir- 
cumvent the  lurking  foe,  to  guide  his  course  by  the 
stars,  the  wind,  the  streams,  or  the  trees,  —  such 
are  the  arts  which  the  white  man  has  learned  from 
the  red.  Often,  indeed,  the  pupil  has  outstripped 
his  master.  He  can  hunt  as  well ;  he  can  fight 
better ;  and  yet  there  are  niceties  of  the  woods- 
man's craft  in  which  the  white  man  must  yield  the 
palm  to  his  savage  rival.  Seldom  can  he  boast,  in 
equal  measure,  that  subtlety  of  sense,  more  akin  to 
the  instinct  of  brutes  than  to  human  reason,  which 
reads  the  signs  of  the  forest  as  the  scholar  reads 
the  printed   page,  to  which  the  whistle  of  a  bird 


160  THE  WILDERNESS  AND  ITS  TENANTS.     [1760-1763. 

can  speak  clearly  as  the  tongue  of  man,  and  the 
rustle  of  a  leaf  give  knowledge  of  life  or  death. ^ 
With  us  the  name  of  the  savage  is  a  byword  of 
reproach.  The  Indian  would  look  with  equal  scorn 
on  those  who,  buried  in  useless  lore,  are  blind  and 
deaf  to  the  great  world  of  nature. 

A  striking  example  of  Indian  acuteness  once  came  under  my  obser- 
vation. Travelling  in  company  with  a  Canadian  named  Raymond,  and 
an  Ogillallah  Indian,  we  came  at  nightfall  to  a  small  stream  called  Chug- 
water,  a  branch  of  Laramie  Creek.  As  we  prepared  to  encamp,  we  ob- 
served the  ashes  of  a  fire,  the  footprints  of  men  and  horses,  and  other 
mdications  that  a  party  had  been  upon  the  spot  not  many  days  before. 
Having  secured  our  horses  for  the  night,  Raymond  and  I  sat  down  and 
lighted  our  pipes,  my  companion,  who  had  spent  his  whole  life  in  the 
Indian  country,  hazarding  various  conjectures  as  to  the  numbers  and 
character  of  our  predecessors.  Soon  after,  we  were  joined  by  the  Indian, 
who,  meantime,  had  been  prowling  about  the  place.  Raymond  asked 
what  discovery  he  had  made.  He  answered,  that  the  party  were  friendly, 
and  that  they  consisted  of  eight  men,  both  whites  and  Indians,  several  of 
whom  he  named,  affirming  that  he  knew  them  well.  To  an  inquiry  how 
he  gained  his  information,  he  would  make  no  intelligible  reply.  On  the 
next  day,  reaching  Fort  Laramie,  a  post  of  the  American  Fur  Company, 
we  found  that  he  was  correct  in  every  particular,  —  a  circumstance  the 
more  remarkable,  as  he  had  been  with  us  for  three  weeks,  and  could  have 
had  no  other  means  of  knowledge  than  we  ourselves. 


CHAPTER    VI. 

1760. 

THE  ENGLISH   TAKE  POSSESSION  OF  THE  WESTERN 
POSTS. 

The  war  was  over.  The  plains  around  Montreal 
were  dotted  with  the  white  tents  of  three  victorious 
armies,  and  the  work  of  conquest  was  complete. 
Canada,  with  all  her  dependencies,  had  yielded  to 
the  British  crown ;  but  it  still  remained  to  carry 
into  full  effect  the  terms  of  the  surrender,  and  take 
possession  of  those  western  outposts,  where  the 
lilies  of  France  had  not  as  yet  descended  from  the 
flagstaff.  The  execution  of  this  task,  neither  an 
easy  nor  a  safe  one,  was  assigned  to  a  provincial 
officer,  Major  Eobert  Rogers. 

Rogers  was  a  native  of  New  Hampshire.  He 
commanded  a  body  of  provincial  rangers,  and  stood 
in  high  repute  as  a  partisan  officer.  Putnam  and 
Stark  were  his  associates ;  and  it  was  in  this  wood- 
land warfare  that  the  former  achieved  many  of 
those  startling  adventures  and  hair-breadth  escapes 
which  have  made  his  name  familiar  at  every  New- 
England  fireside.     Rogers's  Rangers,  half  hunters, 

half  woodsmen,  trained  in  a   discipline   of  their 

11 


162  THE  ENGLISH  IN  THE  WEST.  [1760. 

own,  and  armed,  like  Indians,  with  hatchet,  knife, 
and  gnn,  were  employed  in  a  service  of  peculiar 
hardship.  Their  chief  theatre  of  action  was  the 
mountainous  region  of  Lake  George,  the  debatable 
ground  between  the  hostile  forts  of  Ticonderoga 
and  William  Henry.  The  deepest  recesses  of 
these  romantic  solitudes  had  heard  the  French  and 
Indian  yell,  and  the  answering  shout  of  the  hardy 
New-England  men.  In  summer,  they  passed  down 
the  lake  in  whale  boats  or  canoes,  or  threaded  the 
pathways  of  the  woods  in  single  file^  like  the 
savages  themselves.  In  winter,  they  journeyed 
through  the  swamps  on  snowshoes,  skated  along 
the  frozen  surface  of  the  lake,  and  bivouacked  at 
night  among  the  snow-drifts.  They  intercepted 
French  messengers,  encountered  French  scouting 
parties,  and  carried  off  prisoners  from  under  the 
very  walls  of  Ticonderoga.  Their  hardships  and 
adventures,  their  marches  and  countermarches, 
their  frequent  skirmishes  and  midwinter  battles, 
had  made  them  famous  throughout  America ;  and 
though  it  was  the  fashion  of  the  day  to  sneer  at 
the  efforts  of  provincial  troops,  the  name  of 
Rogers's  Rangers  was  never  mentioned  but  with 
honor. 

Their  commander  was  a  man  tall  and  strong  in 
person,  and  rough  in  feature.  He  was  versed 
in  all  the  arts  of  woodcraft,  sagacious,  prompt,  and 
resolute,  yet  so  cautious  withal  that  he  sometimes 
incurred  the  unjust  charge  of  cowardice.  His 
mind,  naturally  active,  was  by  no  means  uncul- 
tivated ;    and   his  .  books    and   unpublished  letters 


1760. J  MAJOR  ROBERT   ROGERS.  163 

bear  witness  that  his  style  as  a  writer  was  not 
contemptible.  But  his  vain,  restless,  and  grasping 
spirit,  and  more  than  doubtful  honesty,  proved  the 
ruin  of  an  enviable  reputation.  Six  years  after 
the  expedition  of  which  I  am  about  to  speak,  he 
was  tried  by  a  court-martial  for  a  meditated  act  of 
treason,  the  surrender  of  Fort  Michillimackinac 
into  the  hands  of  the  Spaniards,  who  were  at  that 
time  masters  of  Upper  Louisiana.^  Not  long  after, 
if  we  may  trust  his  own  account,  he  passed  over 
to  the  Barbary  States,  entered  the  service  of  the 
Dey  of  Algiers,  and  fought  two  battles  under  his 
banners.  At  the  opening  of  the  war  of  inde- 
pendence, he  returned  to  his  native  country,  where 
he  made  professions  of  patriotism,  but  was  strongly 
suspected  by  many,  including  Washington  himself, 
of  acting  the  part  of  a  spy.  In  fact,  he  soon 
openly  espoused  the  British  cause,  and  received  a 
colonel's  commission  from  the  crown.  His  ser- 
vices, however,  proved  of  little  consequence.  In 
1778,  he  was  proscribed  and  banished,  under  the 
act  of  New  Hampshire,  and  the  remainder  of  his 
life  was  passed  in  such  obscurity  that  it  is  difficult 
to  determine  when  and  where  he  died.^ 

1  MS.  Gage  Papers. 

2  Sabine,  American  Loyalists,  576.  Sparks,  Writings  of  Washington, 
III.  208,  244,  439  ;  IV.  128,  520,  524. 

Although  Rogers,  especially  where  his  pecuniary  interest  was  con- 
cerned, was  far  from  scrupulous,  I  have  no  hesitation  in  following  his 
account  of  the  expedition  up  the  lakes.  The  incidents  of  each  day  are 
minuted  down  in  a  dry,  unambitious  style,  bearing  the  clear  impress  of 
truth.  Extracts  from  the  orderly  books  and  other  oflScial  papers  are 
given,  while  portions  of  the  narrative,  verified  by  contemporary  docu- 
ments, may  stand  as  earnests  for  the  truth  of  the  whole. 

Rogers's  published  works  consist  of  the  Journals  of  his  ranging  service 


164  THE  ENGLISH  IN  THE   WEST.  [17G0. 

On  the  twelfth  of  September,  1760,  Rogers,  then 
at  the  height  of  his  reputation,  received  orders 
from  Sir  Jeffrey  Amherst  to  ascend  the  lakes  with 
a  detachment  of  rangers,  and  take  possession,  in 
the  name  of  his  Britannic  Majesty,  of  Detroit, 
Michillimackinac,  and  other  western  posts  included 
in  the  late  capitulation.  He  left  Montreal,  on  the 
following  day,  with  two  hundred  rangers,  in  fifteen 
whale  boats.  Stemming  the  surges  of  La  Chine 
and  the  Cedars,  they  left  behind  them  the  straggling 
hamlet  which  bore  the  latter  name,  and  formed  at 
that  day  the  western  limit  of  Canadian  settlement.^ 
They  gained  Lake  Ontario,  skirted  its  northern 
shore,  amid  rough  and  boisterous  weather,  and 
crossing  at  its  western  extremity,  reached  Fort 
Niagara  on  the  first  of  October.     Carrying  their 


and  his  Concise  Account  of  North  America,  a  small  volume  containing  much 
valuable  information.  Both  appeared  in  London  in  1765.  To  these  may 
be  added  a  curious  drama,  called  Ponteach,  or  the  Savages  of  A7ne7-ica,  which 
appears  to  have  been  written,  in  part,  at  least,  by  him.  It  is  very  rare, 
and  besides  the  copy  in  my  possession,  I  know  of  but  one  other,  which 
may  be  found  in  the  library  of  the  British  Museum.  For  an  account  of 
this  curious  production,  see  Appendix,  B.  An  engraved  full-length  por- 
trait of  Rogers  was  published  in  London  in  1776.  He  is  represented  as  a 
tall,  strong  man,  dressed  in  the  costume  of  a  ranger,  with  a  powder-horn 
slung  at  his  side,  a  gun  resting  in  the  hollow  of  his  arm,  and  a  coun- 
tenance by  no  means  prepossessing.  Behind  him,  at  a  little  distance, 
stand  his  Indian  followers. 

The  steep  mountain  called  Rogers'  Slide,  near  the  northern  end  of 
Lake  George,  derives  its  name  from  the  tradition  that,  during  the  French 
war,  being  pursued  by  a  party  of  Indians,  he  slid  on  snowshoes  down  its 
precipitous  front,  for  more  than  a  thousand  feet,  to  the  frozen  lake  below. 
On  beholding  the  achievement,  the  Indians,  as  well  they  might,  believed 
him  under  the  protection  of  the  Great  Spirit,  and  gave  over  the  chase. 
The  story  seems  unfounded  ;  yet  it  was  not  far  from  this  mountain  that 
the  rangers  fought  one  of  their  most  desperate  winter  battles,  against  a 
force  of  many  times  their  number. 

1  Henry,  Travels  and  Adventures,  9. 


1760.]  THE  RANGERS   ON  THE  LAKES.  165 

boats  over  the  portage,  they  launched  them  once 
more  above  the  cataract,  and  slowly  pursued  their 
voyage ;  while  Eogers,  with  a  few  attendants, 
hastened  on  in  advance  to  Fort  Pitt,  to  deliver 
despatches,  with  which  he  was  charged,  to  General 
Monkton.  This  errand  accomplished,  he  rejoined 
his  command  at  Presqu'  Isle,  about  the  end  of  the 
month,  and  the  whole  proceeded  together  along 
the  southern  margin  of  Lake  Erie.  The  season 
was  far  advanced.  The  wind  was  chill,  the  lake 
was  stormy,  and  the  woods  on  shore  were  tinged 
with  the  fading  hues  of  autumn.  On  the  seventh 
of  November,  they  reached  the  mouth  of  a  river 
called  by  Eogers  the  Chogage.  No  body  of  troops 
under  the  British  flag  had  ever  before  penetrated 
so  far.  The  day  was  dull  and  rainy,  and,  resolving 
to  rest  until  the  weather  should  improve,  Eogers 
ordered  his.  men  to  prepare  their  encampment  in 
the  neighboring  forest. 

Soon  after  the  arrival  of  the  rangers,  a  party 
of  Indian  chiefs  and  warriors  entered  the  camp. 
They  proclaimed  themselves  an  embassy  from 
Pontiac,  ruler  of  all  that  country,  and  directed, 
in  his  name,  that  the  English  should  advance  no 
farther  until  they  had  had  an  interview  with  the 
great  chief,  who  was  already  close  at  hand.  In 
truth,  before  the  day  closed,  Pontiac  himself 
appeared ;  and  it  is  here,  for  the  first  time,  that 
this  remarkable  man  stands  forth  distinctly  on 
the  page  of  history.  He  greeted  Eogers  with  the 
haughty  demand,  what  was  his  business  in  that 
country,  and  how  he  dared  enter  it  without   his 


166  THE  ENGLISH  IN  THE  WEST.  [1760. 

permission.  Rogers  informed  him  that  the  French 
were  defeated,  that  Canada  had  surrendered,  and 
that  he  was  on  his  way  to  take  possession  of 
Detroit,  and  restore  a  general  peace  to  white  men 
and  Indians  ahke.  Pontiac  listened  with  attention, 
but  only  replied  that  he  should  stand  in  the  path 
of  the  English  until  morning.  Having  inquired  if 
the  strangers  were  in  need  of  any  thing  which  his 
country  could  afford,  he  withdrew,  with  his  chiefs, 
at  nightfall,  to  his  own  encampment ;  while  the 
English,  ill  at  ease,  and  suspecting  treachery,  stood 
well  on  their  guard  throughout  the  night.^ 

In  the  morning,  Pontiac  returned  to  the  camp 
with  his  attendant  chiefs,  and  made  his  reply  to 
Eogers's  speech  of  the  previous  day.  He  was 
willing,  he  said,  to  live  at  peace  with  the  English, 
and  suffer  them  to  remain  in  his  country  as  long 
as  they  treated  him  with  due  respect  and  deference. 
The  Indian  chiefs  and  provincial  officers  smoked 
the  calumet  together,  and  perfect  harmony  seemed 
established  between  them.^ 

Up  to  this  time,  Pontiac  had  been,  in  word  and 
deed,  the  fast  ally  of  the  French  ;  but  it  is  easy  to 
discern  the  motives  that  impelled  him  to  renounce 
his  old  adherence.  The  American  forest  never  pro- 
duced a  man  more  shrewd,  politic,  and  ambitious. 
Ignorant  as  he  was  of  what  was  passing  in  the 
world,  he  could  clearly  see  that  the  French  power 

1  There  can  be  no  reasonable  doubt,  that  the  interview  with  Pontiac, 
described  by  Rogers  in  his  Account  of  North  America,  took  place  on  the 
occasion  indicated  in  his  Journals,  under  date  of  the  7th  of  November. 
The  Indians  whom  he  afterwards  met  are  stated  to  have  been  Hurons. 

2  Rogers,  Journals,  214;  Account  of  North  America,  240,  243. 


1760.]  VIEWS  OF  PONTIAC.  167 

was  on  the  wane,  and  he  knew  his  own  interest 
too  well  to  prop  a  falling  cause.  By  making 
friends  of  the  English,  he  hoped  to  gain  powerful 
allies,  who  would  aid  his  ambitious  projects,  and 
give  him  an  increased  influence  over  the  tribes ; 
and  he  flattered  himself  that  the  new-comers  would 
treat  him  with  the  same  respect  which  the  French 
had  always  observed.  In  this,  and  all  his  other 
expectations  of  advantage  from  the  English,  he 
was  doomed  to  disappointment. 

A  cold  storm  of  rain  set  in,  and  the  rangers 
were  detained  several  days  in  their  encampment. 
During  this  time,  Rogers  had  several  interviews 
with  Pontiac,  and  was  constrained  to  admire  the 
native  vigor  of- his  intellect,  no  less  than  the  sin- 
gular control  which  he  exercised  over  those  around 
him. 

On  the  twelfth  of  November,  the  detachment  was 
again  in  motion,  and  within  a  few  days  they  had 
reached  the  western  end  of  Lake  Erie.  Here  they 
heard  that  the  Indians  of  Detroit  were  in  arms 
against  them,  and  that  four  hundred  warriors  lay 
in  ambush  at  the  entrance  of  the  river  to  cut  them 
05".  But  the  powerful  influence  of  Pontiac  was 
exerted  in  behalf  of  his  new  friends.  The  warriors 
abandoned  their  design,  and  the  rangers  continued 
their  progress  towards  Detroit,  now  within  a  short 
distance. 

In  the  mean  time.  Lieutenant  Brehm  had  been 
sent  forward  with  a  letter  to  Captain  Beletre,  the 
commandant  at  Detroit,  informing  him  that  Canada 
had  capitulated,  that  his  garrison  was  included  in 


168  THE  ENGLISH  IN  THE   WEST.  [1760. 

the  capitulation,  and  that  an  English  detachment 
was  approaching  to  relieve  it.  The  Frenchman, 
in  great  wrath  at  the  tidings,  disregarded  the  mes- 
sage as  an  informal  communication,  and  resolved 
to  keep  a  hostile  attitude  to  the  last.  He  did  his 
best  to  rouse  the  fury  of  the  Indians.  x\mong 
other  devices,  he  displayed  upon  a  pole,  before  the 
yelling  multitude,  the  effigy  of  a  crow  pecking  a 
man's  head ;  the  crow  representing  himself,  and 
the  head,  observes  Rogers,  "  being  meant  for  my 
own."  All  his  efforts  were  unavailing,  and  his 
faithless  allies  showed  unequivocal  symptoms  of 
defection  in  the  hour  of  need. 

Rogers  had  now  entered  the  mouth  of  the  River 
Detroit,  whence  he  sent  forward  Captain  Campbell 
with  a  copy  of  the  capitulation,  and  a  letter  from 
the  Marquis  de  Vaudreuil,  directing  that  the  place 
should  be  given  up,  in  accordance  with  the  terms 
agreed  upon  between  him  and  General  Amherst. 
Beletre  was  forced  to  yield,  and  with  a  very  ill 
grace  declared  himself  and  his  garrison  at  the 
disposal  of  the  English  commander. 

The  whale  boats  of  the  rangers  moved  slowly 
upwards  between  the  low  banks  of  the  Detroit, 
until  at  length  the  green  uniformity  of  marsh  and 
forest  was  relieved  by  the  Canadian  houses,  which 
began  to  appear  on  either  bank,  the  outskirts  of 
the  secluded  and  isolated  settlement.  Before  them, 
on  the  right  side,  they  could  see  the  village  of  the 
Wyandots,  and  on  the  left  the  clustered  lodges  of 
the  Pottawattamies ;  while,  a  little  beyond,  the 
flag  of  France  was  flying  for  the  last  time  above 


1760.]  THE  RANGERS  AT  DETROIT.  169 

the  bark  roofs  and  weather-beaten  palisades  of  the 
little  fortified  town. 

The  rangers  landed  on  the  opposite  bank,  and 
pitched  their  tents  upon  a  meadow,  while  two 
officers,  with  a  small  detachment,  went  across  the 
river  to  take  possession  of  the  place.  In  obedience 
to  their  summons,  the  French  garrison  defiled  upon 
the  plain,  and  laid  down  their  arms.  The  Jleur  de 
lis  was  lowered  from  the  flagstaff,  and  the  cross  of 
St.  George  rose  aloft  in  its  place,  while  seven  hun- 
dred Indian  warriors,  lately  the  active  allies  of 
France,  greeted  the  sight  with  a  burst  of  tri- 
umphant yells.  The  Canadian  militia  were  next 
called  together  and  disarmed.  The  Indians  looked 
on  with  amazement  at  their  obsequious  behavior, 
quite  at  a  loss  to  understand  why  so  many  men 
should  humble  themselves  before  so  few.  Nothing 
is  more  effective  in  gaining  the  respect,  or  even 
attachment,  of  Indians  than  a  display  of  power. 
The  savage  spectators  conceived  the  loftiest  idea 
of  English  prowess,  and  were  astonished  at  the 
forbearance  of  the  conquerors  in  not  killing  their 
vanquished  enemies  on  the  spot. 

It  was  on  the  twenty-ninth  of  November,  1760, 
that  Detroit  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  English. 
The  garrison  were  sent  as  prisoners  down  the  lake, 
but  the  Canadian  inhabitants  were  allowed  to  retain 
their  farms  and  houses,  on  condition  of  swearing 
allegiance  to  the  British  crown.  An  officer  was 
sent  southward  to  take  possession  of  the  forts 
Miami  and  Ouatanon,  which  guarded  the  commu- 
nication between  Lake  Erie  and  the  Ohio ;  while 


170  THE  ENGLISH  IN  THE   WEST.  [1760. 

Kogers  himself,  with  a  small  party,  proceeded 
northward  to  relieve  the  French  garrison  of 
Michillimackinac.  The  storms  and  gathering  ice 
of  Lake  Huron  forced  him  back  without  accom- 
plishing his  object ;  and  Michillimackinac,  with  the 
three  remoter  posts  of  St.  Marie,  Green  Bay,  and 
St.  Joseph,  remained  for  a  time  in  the  hands  of  the 
French.  During  the  next  season,  however,  a 
detachment  of  the  60th  regiment,  then  called  the 
Royal  xlmericans,  took  possession  of  them ;  and 
nothing  now  remained  within  the  power  of  the 
French,  except  the  few  posts  and  settlements  on 
the  Mississippi  and  the  Wabash,  not  included  in 
the  capitulation  of  Montreal. 

The  work  of  conquest  was  finished.  The  fertile 
wilderness  beyond  the  Alleghanies,  over  which 
France  had  claimed  sovereignty,  —  that  boundless 
forest,  with  its  tracery  of  interlacing  streams,  which, 
like  veins  and  arteries,  gave  it  life  and  nourishment, 
—  had  passed  into  the  hands  of  her  rival.  It  was 
by  a  few  insignificant  forts,  separated  by  oceans  of 
fresh  water  and  uncounted  leagues  of  forest,  that 
the  two  great  European  powers,  France  first,  and 
now  England,  endeavored  to  enforce  their  claims 
to  this  vast  domain.  There  is  something  ludicrous 
in  the  disparity  between  the  importance  of  the 
possession  and  the  slenderness  of  the  force  em- 
ployed to  maintain  it.  A  region  embracing  so 
many  thousand  miles  of  surface  was  consigned 
to  the  keeping  of  some  fire  or  six  hundred  men. 
Yet  the  force,  small  as  it  was,  appeared  adequate 
to  its  object,  for  there  seemed  no  enemy  to  contend 


1760.]  CONQUEST   OF  THE    WEST.  171 

with.  The  hands  of  the  French  were  tied  by  the 
capitulation,  and  little  apprehension  was  felt  from 
the  red  inhabitants  of  the  woods.  The  lapse  of 
two  years  sufficed  to  show  how  complete  and  fatal 
was  the  mistake. 


CHAPTER    VII. 

1760-1763. 
ANGER  OF  THE  INDIAls^S.  —  THE  CONSPIRACY. 

The  country  was  scarcely  transferred  to  the 
English,  when  smothered  murmurs  of  discontent 
began  to  be  audible  among  the  Indian  tribes. 
From  the  head  of  the  Potomac  to  Lake  Superior, 
and  from  the  xllleghanies  to  the  Mississippi,  in 
every  wigwam  and  hamlet  of  the  forest,  a  deep- 
rooted  hatred  of  the  English  increased  with  rapid 
growth.  Nor  is  this  to  be  wondered  at.  We  have 
seen  with  what  sagacious  policy  the  French  had 
labored  to  ingratiate  themselves  with  the  Indians  ; 
and  the  slaughter  of  the  Monongahela,  with  the 
horrible  devastation  of  the  western  frontier,  the 
outrages  perpetrated  at  Oswego,  and  the  massacre 
at  Fort  Wilham  Henry,  bore  witness  to  the  suc- 
cess of  their  efforts.  Even  the  Delawares  and 
Shawanoes,  the  faithful  allies  of  William  Penn, 
had  at  length  been  seduced  by  their  blandishments  ; 
and  the  Iroquois,  tbe  ancient  enemies  of  Canada, 
had  half  forgotten  their  former  hostility,  and  well- 
nigh  taken  part  against  the  British  colonists.  The 
remote  nations  of  the  west  had  also  joined  in  the 


1760-1763.]        INDIFFERENCE   OF   THE  ENGLISH.  173 

war,  descending  in  their  canoes  for  hundreds  of 
miles,  to  fight  against  the  enemies  of  France.  All 
these  tribes  entertained  towards  the  English  that 
rancorous  enmity  which  an  Indian  always  feels 
against  those  to  whom  he  has  been  opposed  in 
war. 

Under  these  circumstances,  it  behooved  the  Eng- 
lish to  use  the  utmost  care  in  their  conduct  towards 
the  tribes.  But  even  when  the  conflict  with  France 
was  impending,  and  the  alliance  with  the  Indians 
was  of  the  last  importance,  they  had  treated  them 
with  indifference  and  neglect.  They  were  not  likely 
to  adopt  a  different  course  now  that  their  friendship 
seemed  a  matter  of  no  consequence.  In  truth,  the 
intentions  of  the  English  were  soon  apparent.  In 
the  zeal  for  retrenchment,  which  prevailed  after  the 
close  of  hostilities,  the  presents  which  it  had  always 
been  customary  to  give  the  Indians,  at  stated  inter- 
vals, were  either  withheld  altogether,  or  doled  out 
with  a  niggardly  and  reluctant  hand;  while,  to 
make  the  matter  worse,  the  agents  and  officers  of 
government  often  appropriated  the  presents  to 
themselves,  and  afterwards  sold  them  at  an  exorbi- 
tant price  to  the  Indians.^  When  the  French  had 
possession  of  the  remote  forts,  they  were  accus- 
tomed, with  a  wise  liberality,  to  supply  the  sur- 
rounding Indians  with  guns,  ammunition,  and 
clothing,  until  the  latter  had  forgotten  the  weapons 
and  garments  of  their  forefathers,  and  depended  on 
the  white  men  for  support.  The  sudden  withhold- 
ing of  these  supplies  was,    therefore,   a  grievous 

1  MS.  Johnson  Papers. 


174  ANGER  OE  THE  INDIANS.  [1760-1763. 

calamity.  Want,  suffering,  and  death,  were  the 
consequences ;  and  this  cause  alone  would  have 
been  enough  to  produce  general  discontent.  But, 
unhappily,  other  grievances  were  superadded.^ 

The  English  fur-trade  had  never  been  well  regu- 
lated, and  it  was  now  in  a  worse  condition  than 
ever.     Many  of   the  traders,   and  those  in    their 

1  Extract  from  a  MS.  letter  —  Sir  W.  Johnson  to  Governor  Colden, 
Dec.  24,  1763. 

"  I  shall  not  take  upon  me  to  point  out  the  Originall  Parsimony  &c.  to 
w^  the  first  defection  of  the  Indians  can  with  justice  &  certainty  be  at- 
tributed, but  only  observe,  as  I  did  in  a  former  letter,  that  the  Indians 
(whose  friendship  was  never  cultivated  by  the  English  with  that  atten- 
tion, expense,  &  assiduity  with  w*»  y«  French  obtained  their  favour)  were 
for  many  years  jealous  of  our  growing  power,  were  repeatedly  assured  by 
the  French  (who  were  at  y«  pains  of  having  many  proper  emissaries 
among  them)  that  so  soon  as  we  became  masters  of  this  country,  we 
should  immediately  treat  them  with  neglect,  hem  them  in  with  Posts  & 
Forts,  encroach  upon  their  Lands,  and  finally  destroy  them.  All  w^  after 
the  reduction  of  Canada,  seemed  to  appear  too  clearly  to  the  Indians,  who 
thereby  lost  the  great  advantages  resulting  from  the  possession  w^*  the 
French  formerly  had  of  Posts  &  Trade  in  their  Country,  neither  of  which 
they  could  have  ever  enjoyed  but  for  the  notice  they  took  of  the  Indians, 
&  the  presents  they  bestowed  so  bountifully  upon  them,  w^  however 
expensive,  they  wisely  foresaw  was  infinitely  cheaper,  and  much  more 
efiectual  than  the  keeping  of  a  large  body  of  Regular  Troops,  in  their  sev- 
eral Countrys,  ...  a  Plan  which  has  endeared  their  memory  to  most  of 
the  Indian  Nations,  who  would  I  fear  generally  go  over  to  them  in  case 
they  ever  got  footing  again  in  this  Country,  &  who  were  repeatedly  ex- 
horted, &  encouraged  by  the  French  (from  motives  of  Interest  &  dislike 
\7^  they  will  always  possess)  to  fall  upon  us,  by  representing  that  their 
liberties  &  Country  were  in  y«  utmost  danger."  In  January,  1768, 
Colonel  Bouquet,  commanding  in  Pennsylvania,  writes  to  General  Am- 
herst, stating  the  discontent  produced  among  the  Indians  by  the  sup- 
pression of  presents.  The  commander-in-chief  repUes,  "  As  to  appro- 
priating a  particular  sum  to  be  laid  out  yearly  to  the  warriors  in  presents, 
&c.,  that  I  can  by  no  means  agree  to;  nor  can  I  think  it  necessary  to  give 
them  any  presents  by  way  of  Bribes,  for  if  they  do  not  behave  properly 
they  are  to  be  punished."  And  again,  in  February,  to  the  same  ofiicer, 
"  As  you  are  thoroughly  acquainted  with  my  sentiments  regarding  the 
treatment  of  the  Indians  in  general,  you  will  of  course  order  Cap.  Ecuyer 
.  .  .  not  to  give  those  who  are  able  to  provide  for  their  famiUes  any 
encouragement  to  loiter  away  their  time  in  idleness  about  the  Fort.'*^ 


1760-1763.]  DISORDERS   OF   THE  FUR-TRADE.  175 

employ,  were  ruffians  of  the  coarsest  stamp,  who 
vied  with  each  other  in  rapacity,  violence,  and 
profligacy.  They  cheated,  cursed,  and  plundered 
the  Indians,  and  outraged  their  families ;  offering, 
w^hen  compared  with  the  French  traders,  who  were 
under  better  regulation,  a  most  unfavorable  example 
of  the  character  of  their  nation. 

The  officers  and  soldiers  of  the  garrisons  did 
their  full  part  in  exciting  the  general  resentment. 
Formerly,  when  the  warriors  came  to  the  forts, 
they  had  been  welcomed  by  the  French  with  atten- 
tion and  respect.  The  inconvenience  which  their 
presence  occasioned  had  been  disregarded,  and 
their  peculiarities  overlooked.  But  now  they  were 
received  with  cold  looks  and  harsh  words  from  the 
officers,  and  with  oaths,  menaces,  and  sometimes 
blows,  from  the  reckless  and  brutal  soldiers. 
When,  after  their  troublesome  and  intrusive  fash- 
ion, they  were  lounging  everywhere  about  the  fort, 
or  lazily  reclining  in  the  shadow  of  the  walls, 
they  were  met  with  muttered  ejaculations  of  impa- 
tience, or  abrupt  orders  to  be  gone,  enforced,  per- 
haps, by  a  touch  from  the  butt  of  a  sentinel's 
musket.  These  marks  of  contempt  were  unspeak- 
ably galling  to  their  haughty  spirit.^ 

1  Some  of  tlie  principal  causes  of  the  war  are  exhibited  with  spirit  and 
truth  in  the  old  tragedy  of  Ponteach,  writt-en  probably  by  Major  Rogers. 
The  portion  of  the  play  referred  to  is  given  in  Appendix,  B. 

"  The  English  treat  us  with  much  Disrespect,  and  we  have  the  greatest 
Reason  to  believe,  by  their  Behavior,  they  intend  to  Cut  us  off  en- 
tirely ;  They  have  possessed  themselves  of  our  Country,  it  is  now  in  our 
power  to  Dispossess  them  and  Recover  it,  if  we  will  but  Embrace  the 
opportunity  before  they  have  time  to  assemble  together,  and  fortify 
themselves,  there  is  no  time  to  be  lost,  let  us  Strike  immediately."  — 
Speech  of  a  Seneca  chief  to  the  Wyandots  and  Ottawas  of  Detroit,  July,  1761. 


176  ANGER  OF  THE  INDIANS.  [1760-1763. 

But  what  most  contributed  to  the  growing  dis- 
content of  the  tribes  was  the  intrusion  of  settlers 
upon  their  lands,  at  all  times  a  fruitful  source  of 
Indian  hostility.  Its  effects,  it  is  true,  could  only 
be  felt  by  those  whose  country  bordered  upon  the 
English  settlements ;  but  among  these  were  the 
most  powerful  and  influential  of  the  tribes.  The 
Delawares  and  Shawanoes,  in  particular,  had  by 
this  time  been  roused  to  the  highest  pitch  of  exas- 
peration. Their  best  lands  had  been  invaded,  and 
all  remonstrance  had  been  fruitless.  They  viewed 
with  wrath  and  fear  the  steady  progress  of  the 
white  man,  whose  settlements  had  passed  the  Sus- 
quehanna, and  were  fast  extending  to  the  Allegha- 
nies,  eating  away  the  forest  like  a  spreading  canker. 
The  anger  of  the  Delawares  was  abundantly  shared 
by  their  ancient  conquerors,  the  Six  Nations.  The 
threatened  occupation  of  Wyoming  by  settlers  from 
Connecticut  gave  great  umbrage  to  the  confederacy.^ 
The  Senecas  were  more  especially  incensed  at  Eng- 
lish intrusion,  since,  from  their  position,  they  were 
farthest  removed  from  the  soothing  influence  of  Sir 
William  Johnson,  and  most  exposed  to  the  seduc- 
tions of  the  French ;  while  the  Mohawks,  another 
member  of  the  confederacy,  were  justly  alarmed  at 
seeing  the  better  part  of  their  lands  patented  out 
without  their  consent.  Some  Christian  Indians  of 
the  Oneida  tribe,  in  the  simplicity  of  their  hearts, 
sent  an  earnest  petition  to  Sir  William  Johnson, 
that  the  English  forts  within  the  limits  of  the  Six 


1  Minutes  of  Conference  with  the  Six  Nations  at  Hartford,  1763,  MS. 
Letter — Hamilton  to  Amherst,  Maj  10, 1761. 


1760-1763.]     SINISTER  MOVEMENTS  OF  THE  FRENCH.     177 

Nations    might   be    removed,    or,    as    the    petition 
expresses  it,  kicked  out  of  the  ivay.^ 

The  discontent  of  the  Indians  gave  great  satis- 
faction to  the  French,  who  saw  in  it  an  assurance 
of  safe  and  bloody  vengeance  on  their  conquerors. 
Canada,  it  is  true,  was  gone  beyond  hope  of  recov- 
ery ;  but  they  still  might  hope  to  revenge  its  loss. 
Interest,  moreover,  as  well  as  passion,  prompted 
them  to  inflame  the  resentment  of  the  Indians  ;  for 
most  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  French  settlements 
upon  the  lakes  and  the  Mississippi  were  engaged 
in  the  fur-trade,  and,  fearing  the  English  as  formid- 
able rivals,  they  would  gladly  have  seen  them  driven 
out  of  the  country.  Traders,  hahitans,  coureurs  de 
hois,  and  all  classes  of  this  singular  population, 
accordingly  dispersed  themselves  among  the  vil- 
lages of  the  Indians,  or  held  councils  with  them  in 
the  secret  places  of  the  woods,  urging  them  to  take 
up  arms  against  the  English.  They  exhibited  the 
conduct  of  the  latter  in  its  worst  light,  and  spared 
neither  misrepresentation  nor  falsehood.  They  told 
their  excited  hearers  that  the  English  had  formed 
a  deliberate  scheme  to  root  out  the  whole  Indian 
race,  and,  with  that  design,  had  already  begun  to 


1  "  We  are  now  left  in  Peace,  and  have  nothing  to  do  but  to  plant  our 
Corn,  Hunt  tlie  wild  Beasts,  smoke  our  Pipes,  and  mind  Religion.  But 
as  these  Forts,  which  are  built  among  us,  disturb  our  Peace,  &  are  a  great 
hurt  to  Rehgion,  because  some  of  our  Warriors  are  fooUsh,  &  some  of  our 
Brother  Soldiers  don't  fear  God,  we  therefore  desire  that  these  Forts  may 
be  puU'd  down,  &  kick'd  out  of  the  way." 

At  a  conference  at  Philadelphia,  in  August,  1761,  an  Iroquois  sachem 
said,  "  We,  your  Brethren  of  the  several  Nations,  are  penned  up  like 
Hoggs.  There  are  Forts  all  around  us,  and  therefore  we  are  apprehensive 
that  Death  is  commg  upon  U8." 

12 


178  ANGER   OF   THE  INDIANS.  [1760-1763. 

hem  them  in  with  settlements  on  the  one  hand,  and 
a  chain  of  forts  on  the  other.  Among  other  atro- 
cious plans  for  their  destruction,  they  had  instigated 
the  Cherokees  to  attack  and  destroy  the  tribes  of 
the  Ohio  valley.-^  These  groundless  calumnies 
found  ready  belief.  The  French  declared,  in  addi- 
tion, that  the  King  of  France  had  of  late  years 
fallen  asleep  ;  that,  during  his  slumbers,  the  Eng- 
lish had  seized  upon  Canada ;  but  that  he  was  now 
awake  again,  and  that  his  armies  were  advancing 
up  the  St.  Lawrence  and  the  Mississippi,  to  drive 
out  the  intruders  from  the  country  of  his  red  chil- 
dren. To  these  fabrications  was  added  the  more 
substantial  encouragement  of  arms,  ammunition, 
clothing,  and  provisions,  which  the  French  trading 
companies,  if  not  the  officers  of  the  crown,  distrib- 
uted with  a  liberal  hand.^ 

The  fierce  passions  of  the  Indians,  excited  by 
their  wrongs,  real  or  imagined,  and  exasperated  by 

1  Croghan,  Journal.  See  Hildreth,  Pioneer  History,  68.  Also  Butler, 
Hist.  Kentucky,  Appendix. 

2  Examination  of  Gershom  Hicks,  a  spy.  See  Pennsylvania  Gazette, 
No.  1846. 

Many  passages  from  contemporary  fetters  and  docmnents  might  be 
cited  in  support  of  the  above.  The  following  extract  from  a  letter  of 
Lieut.  Edward  Jenkins,  commanding  at  Fort  Ouatanon  on  the  Wabash,  to 
Major  Gladwin  commanding  at  Detroit,  is  a  good  example.  The  date  is 
28  March,  1763.  "  The  Canadians  here  are  eternally  telling  Hes  to  the 
Indians.  .  .  One  La  Pointe  told  the  Indians  a  few  days  ago  that  we  should 
all  be  prisoners  in  a  short  time  (showing  when  the  corn  was  about  a  foot 
high),  that  there  was  a  great  army  to  come  from  the  Mississippi,  and  that 
they  were  to  have  a  great  number  of  Indians  with  them  ;  therefore  advised 
them  not  to  help  us.  That  they  would  soon  take  Detroit  and  these  small 
posts,  and  then  they  would  take  Quebec,  Montreal,  &c.,  and  go  into  our 
country.  This,  I  am  informed,  they  tell  them  from  one  end  of  tlie  year 
to  the  other."  He  adds  that  the  Indians  will  rather  give  six  beaver-skins 
for  a  blanket  to  a  Frenchman  than  three  to  an  Englishman. 


1760-1763.]  DELAWARE  PROPHET.  179 

the  representations  of  the  French,  were  yet  farther 
wrought  upon  by  influences  of  another  kind.  A 
prophet  rose  among  the  Delawares.  This  man 
may  serve  as  a  counterpart  to  the  famous  Shawanoe 
prophet,  who  figured  so  conspicuously  in  the  Indian 
outbreak,  under  Tecumseh,  immediately  before  the 
war  with  England  in  1812.  Many  other  parallel 
instances  might  be  shown,  as  the  great  suscepti- 
bility of  the  Indians  to  superstitious  impressions 
renders  the  advent  of  a  prophet  among  them  no 
very  rare  occurrence.  In  the  present  instance,  the 
inspired  Delaware  seems  to  have  been  rather  an 
enthusiast  than  an  impostor;  or  perhaps  he  com- 
bined both  characters.  The  objects  of  his  mission 
were  not  wholly  political.  By  means  of  certain 
external  observances,  most  of  them  sufficiently  friv- 
olous and  absurd,  his  disciples  were  to  strengthen 
and  purify  their  natures,  and  make  themselves 
acceptable  to  the  Great  Spirit,  whose  messenger 
he  proclaimed  himself  to  be.  He  also  enjoined 
them  to  lay  aside  the  weapons  and  clothing  which 
they  received  from  the  white  men,  and  return  to 
the  primitive  life  of  their  ancestors.  By  so  doing, 
and  by  strictly  observing  his  other  precepts,  the 
tribes  would  soon  be  restored  to  their  ancient  great- 
ness and  power,  and  be  enabled  to  drive  out  the 
white  men  who  infested  their  territory.  The  pro- 
phet had  many  followers.  Indians  came  from  far 
and  near,  and  gathered  together  in  large  encamp- 
ments to  listen  to  his  exhortations.  His  fame 
spread  even  to  the  nations  of  the  northern  lakes  ; 
but   though   his    disciples   followed   most   of    his 


180  ANGER   OF   THE   INDIANS.  [1760-1763. 

injunctions,  flinging  away  flint  and  steel,  and  mak- 
ing copious  use  of  emetics,  with  other  observances 
equally  troublesome,  yet  the  requisition  to  abandon 
the  use  of  fire-arms  was  too  inconvenient  to  be 
complied  with.^ 

With  so  many  causes  to  irritate  their  restless  and 
warlike  spirit,  it  could  not  be  supposed  that  the 
Indians  would  long  remain  quiet.  Accordingly,  in 
the  summer  of  the  year  1761,  Captain  Campbell, 
then  commanding  at  Detroit,  received  information 
that  a  deputation  of  Senecas  had  come  to  the 
neighboring  village  of  the  Wyandots  for  the  pur- 
pose of  instigating  the  latter  to  destroy  him  and 
his  garrison.^     On  farther  inquiry,  the  plot  proved 

1  WCuUough's  Narrative,  See  Incidents  of  Border  Life,  98.  M'Cul- 
lough  was  a  prisoner  among  the  Delawares,  at  the  time  of  the  prophet's 
appearance. 

2  MS.  Minutes  of  a  Council  held  by  Deputies  of  the  Six  Nations,  with  the 
Wyandots,  Ottaivas,  Ojibivas,  and  Pottawattamies,  at  the  Wyandot  town,  near 
Detroit,  July  3,  1761. 

Extract  from  a  MS.  Letter —  Captain  Campbell,  commanding  at  Detroit, 
to  Major  Walters,  commanding  at  Niagara. 

\  "Detroit,  June  17th.  1761, 
(  two  o'clock  in  the  morning. 
^'Sir: 

"  I  had  the  favor  of  Yours,  with  General  Amherst's  Dispatches. 

"  I  have  sent  You  an  Express  with  a  very  Important  piece  of  Intelli- 
gence I  have  had  the  good  fortune  to  Discover.  I  have  been  Lately 
alarmed  with  Reports  of  the  bad  Designs  of  the  Indian  Nations  against 
this  place  and  the  English  in  General ;  I  can  now  Inform  You  for  certain 
it  Comes  from  the  Six  Nations  ;  and  that  they  have  Sent  Belts  of  Wam- 
pum &  Deputys  to  all  the  Nations,  from  Nova  Scotia  to  the  lUinois,  to  take 
up  the  hatchet  against  the  English,  and  have  employed  the  Messagues  to 
send  Belts  of  Wampum  to  the  Northern  Nations.  .  .  . 

"  Their  project  is  as  follows  :  the  Six  Nations — at  least  the  Senecas 
—  are  to  Assemble  at  the  head  of  French  Creek,  within  five  and  twenty 
Leagues  of  Presqu'  Isle,  part  of  the  Six  Nations,  the  Delawares  and 
Shanese,  are  to  Assemble  on  the  Ohio,  and  all  at  the  same  time,  about  the 
latter  End  of  this  Month,  to  surprise  Niagara  &  Fort  Pitt,  and  Cut  off  the 
Communication  Every  where ;  I  hope  this  will  Come  time  Enough  to  put 


1760-1763.]  •     CONSPIRACIES.  181 

to  be  general ;  and  Niagara,  Fort  Pitt,  and  other 
posts,  were  to  share  the  fate  of  Detroit.  Campbell 
instantly  despatched  messengers  to  Sir  Jeffrey 
Amherst,  and  the  commanding  officers  of  the  dif- 
ferent forts ;  and,  by  this  timely  discovery,  the 
conspiracy  was  nipped  in  the  bud.  During  the 
following  summer,  1762,  another  similar  design 
was  detected  and  suppressed.  They  proved  to  be 
the  precursors  of  a  tempest.  When,  early  in  1763, 
it  was  announced  to  the  tribes  that  the  King  of 
France  had  ceded  all  their  country  to  the  King 
of  England,  without  even  asking  their  leave,  a 
ferment  of  indignation  at  once  became  apparent 
among  them ;  ^  and,  within  a  few  weeks,  a  plot 
was  matured,  such  as  was  never,  before  or  since, 
conceived  or  executed  by  a  Xorth- American  Indian. 
It  was  determined  to  attack  all  the  English  forts 
upon  the  same  day ;  then,  having  destroyed  their 
garrisons,  to  turn  upon  the  defenceless  frontier, 
and  ravage  and  lay  waste  the  settlements,  until,  as 


You  on  Your  Guard  and  to  send  to  Oswego,  and  all  the  Posts  on  that 
communication,  they  Expect  to  be  Joined  by  the  Nations  that  are  Come 
from  the  Xorth  by  Toronto." 

1  Letter,  Geo.  Croghan  to  Sir  J.  Amherst,  Fort  Pitt,  April  30,  1763, 
MS.  Amherst  replies  characteristically,  "  Whatever  idle  notions  they 
may  entertain  in  regard  to  the  cessions  made  by  the  French  Crown  can  be 
of  very  little  consequence." 

Croghan,  Sir  William  Johnson's  deputy,  and  a  man  of  experience,  had 
for  some  time  been  anxious  as  to  the  results  of  the  arrogant  policy  of  Am- 
herst. On  March  19th  he  ^vrote  to  Colonel  Bouquet :  "How  they  {the 
Indians)  may  behave  I  can't  pretend  to  say,  but  I  do  not  approve  of  Gen^- 
Amherst's  plan  of  distressing  them  too  much,  as  in  my  opinion  they  will 
not  consider  consequences  if  too  much  distrest,  tho'  Sir  Jeffrey  thinks  they 
will." 

Croghan  urges  the  same  views,  with  emphasis,  in  other  letters ;  but 
Amherst  was  deaf  to  all  persuasion. 


182  a:nger  of  the  Indians.  [1760-i763. 

many  of  the  Indians  fondly  believed,  the  English 
should  all  be  driven  into  the  sea,  and  the  country 
restored  to  its  primitive  owners. 

It  is  difficult  to  determine  which  tribe  was  first 
to  raise  the  cry  of  war.  There  were  many  who 
might  have  done  so,  for  all  the  savages  in  the  back- 
w^oods  were  ripe  for  an  outbreak,  and  the  movement 
seemed  almost  simultaneous.  The  Delawares  and 
Senecas  were  the  most  incensed,  and  Kiashuta,  a 
chief  of  the  latter,  was  perhaps  foremost  to  apply 
the  torch ;  but,  if  this  was  the  case,  he  touched 
fire  to  materials  already  on  the  point  of  igniting. 
It  belonged  to  a  greater  chief  than  he  to  give 
method  and  order  to  what  would  else  have  been  a 
wild  burst  of  fury,  and  convert  desultory  attacks 
into  a  formidable  and  protracted  war.  But  for 
Pontiac,  the  whole  might  have  ended  in  a  few 
troublesome  inroads  upon  the  frontier,  and  a  little 
whooping  and  yelling  under  the  walls  of  Fort  Pitt. 

Pontiac,  as  already  mentioned,  was  principal 
chief  of  the  Ottawas.  The  Ottawas,  Ojibwas,  and 
Pottawattamies,  had  long  been  united  in  a  loose 
kind  of  confederacy,  of  which  he  was  the  virtual 
head.  Over  those  around  him  his  authority  was 
almost  despotic,  and  his  power  extended  far  beyond 
the  limits  of  the  three  united  tribes.  His  influence 
was  great  among  all  the  nations  of  the  Illinois 
country ;  while,  from  the  sources  of  the  Ohio  to 
those  of  the  Mississippi,  and,  indeed,  to  the  farthest 
boundaries  of  the  wide-spread  Algonquin  race,  his 
name  was  known  and  respected. 

The  fact  that  Pontiac  was  born  the   son  of  a 


1760-1763.]  PONTIAC.  183 

chief  would  in  no  degree  account  for  the  extent  of 
his  power ;  for,  among  Indians,  many  a  chief's  son 
sinks  back  into  insignificance,  while  the  offspring 
of  a  common  warrior  may  succeed  to  his  place. 
Among  all  the  wild  tribes  of  the  continent,  per- 
sonal merit  is  indispensable  to  gaining  or  preserving 
dignity.  Courage,  resolution,  address,  and  elo- 
quence are  sure  passports  to  distinction.  With 
all  these  Pontiac  was  pre-eminently  endowed,  and 
it  was  chiefly  to  them,  urged  to  their  highest 
activity  by  a  vehement  ambition,  that  he  owed 
his  greatness.  He  possessed  a  commanding  energy 
and  force  of  mind,  and  in  subtlety  and  craft  could 
match  the  best  of  his  wily  race.  But,  though 
capable  of  acts  of  magnanimity,  he  w^as  a  thorough 
savage,  with  a  wider  range  of  intellect  than  those 
around  him,  but  sharing  all  their  passions  and 
prejudices,  their  fierceness  and  treachery.  His 
faults  were  the  faults  of  his  race  ;  and  they  cannot 
eclipse  his  nobler  qualities.  His  memory  is  still 
cherished  among  the  remnants  of  many  Algon- 
quin tribes,  and  the  celebrated  Tecumseh  adopted 
him  for  his  model,  proving  himself  no  unworthy 
imitatorJ 

1  Drake,  Life  of  Tecumseh,  138. 

Several  tribes,  the  Miami s.  Sacs,  and  others,  have  claimed  connection 
■with  the  great  chief ;  but  it  is  certain  that  he  was,  by  adoption  at  least, 
an  Ottawa.  Henry  Conner,  formerly  government  interpreter  for  the 
northern  tribes,  declared,  on  the  faith  of  Indian  tradition,  that  he  was 
born  among  the  Ottawas  of  an  Ojibwa  mother,  a  circumstance  which 
proved  an  advantage  to  him  by  increasing  his  influence  over  both  tribes. 
An  Ojibwa  Indian  told  the  writer  that  some  portion  of  his  power  was  to 
be  ascribed  to  his  being  a  chief  of  the  Metai,  a  magical  association  among 
the  Indians  of  the  lakes,  in  which  character  he  exerted  an  influence  on 
the  superstition  of  his  followers. 


184  THE  CONSPIRACY.  [1760-1763. 

Pontiac  was  now  about  fifty  years  old.  Until 
Major  Rogers  came  into  the  country,  he  had  been^ 
from  motives  probably  both  of  interest  and  incli- 
nation, a  firm  friend  of  the  French.  Not  long 
before  the  French  war  broke  out,  he  had  saved  the 
garrison  of  Detroit  from  the  imminent  peril  of  an 
attack  from  some  of  the  discontented  tribes  of  the 
north.  During  the  war,  he  had  fought  on  the  side 
of  France.  It  is  said  that  he  commanded  the 
Ottawas  at  the  memorable  defeat  of  Braddock  ; 
and  it  is  certain  that  he  was  treated  with  much 
honor  by  the  French  officers,  and  received  especial 
marks  of  esteem  from  the  Marquis  of  Montcalm.^ 

We  have  seen  how,  when  the  tide  of  aff'airs 
changed,  the  subtle  and  ambitious  chief  trimmed 
his  bark  to  the  current,  and  gave  the  hand  of 
friendship  to  the  English.  That  he  was  dis- 
appointed in  their  treatment  of  him,  and  in  all 
the  hopes  that  he  had  formed  from  their  alliance, 
is  sufficiently  evident  from  one  of  his  speeches. 
A  new  light  soon  began  to  dawn  upon  his  untaught 
but  powerful  mind,  and  he  saw  the  altered  posture 
of  aff'airs  under  its  true  aspect. 

It  was  a  momentous  and  gloomy  crisis  for  the 
Indian  race,  for  never  before  had  they  been  exposed 
to  such  imminent  and  pressing  danger.  With  the 
downfall  of  Canada,  the  tribes  had  sunk  at  once 
from  their  position  of  importance.  Hitherto  the 
two  rival  European  nations  had  kept  each  other 

1  The  venerable  Pierre  Chouteau,  of  St.  Louis,  remembered  to  have 
seen  Pontiac,  a  few  days  before  his  death,  attired  in  the  complete  uni- 
form of  a  French  officer,  which  had  been  given  him  by  the  Marquis  of 
Montcalm  not  long  before  the  battle  on  the  Plains  of  Abraham. 


1760-1763.]     GLOOMY  PROSPECTS  OF  THE  INDIANS.         185 

in  check  upon  the  American  continent,  and  the 
Indians  had,  in  some  measure,  held  the  balance  of 
power  between  them.  To  conciliate  their  good 
will  and  gain  their  alliance,  to  avoid  offending 
them  by  injustice  and  encroachment,  was  the 
policy  both  of  the  French  and  English.  But  now 
the  face  of  affairs  was  changed.  The  English  had 
gained  an  undisputed  ascendency,  and  the  Indians, 
no  longer  important  as  allies,  w^ere  treated  as  mere 
barbarians,  who  might  be  trampled  upon  with  im- 
punity. Abandoned  to  their  own  feeble  resources 
and  divided  strength,  they  must  fast  recede,  and 
dwindle  away  before  the  steady  progress  of  the 
colonial  power.  Already  their  best  hunting- 
grounds  were  invaded,  and  from  the  eastern 
ridges  of  the  Alleghanies  they  might  see,  from 
far  and  near,  the  smoke  of  the  settlers'  clearings, 
rising  in  tall  columns  from  the  dark-green  bosom 
of  the  forest.  The  doom  of  the  race  was  sealed, 
and  no  human  power  could  avert  it ;  but  they,  in 
their  ignorance,  believed  otherwise,  and  vainly 
thought  that,  by  a  desperate  effort,  they  might 
yet  uproot  and  overthrow  the  growing  strength 
of  their  destroyers. 

It  would  be  idle  to  suppose  that  the  great  mass 
of  the  Indians  understood,  in  its  full  extent,  the 
danger  which  threatened  their  race.  With  them, 
the  war  was  a  mere  outbreak  of  fury,  and  they 
turned  against  their  enemies  with  as  little  reason 
or  forecast  as  a  panther  when  he  leaps  at  the  throat 
of  the  hunter.  Goaded  by  wrongs  and  indignities, 
they  struck  for  revenge,  and  for  relief  from  the  evil 


186  THE   CONSPIRACY.  [1760-17G3. 

of  the  moment.  But  the  mind  of  Pontiac  could 
embrace  a  wider  and  deeper  view.  The  peril  of 
the  times  was  unfolded  in  its  full  extent  before 
him,  and  he  resolved  to  unite  the  tribes  in  one 
grand  effort  to  avert  it.  He  did  not,  like  many 
of  his  people,  entertain  the  absurd  idea  that  the 
Indians,  by  their  unaided  strength,  could  drive 
the  English  into  the  sea.  He  adopted  the  only 
plan  consistent  with  reason,  that  of  restoring  the 
French  ascendency  in  the  west,  and  once  more 
opposing  a  check  to  British  encroachment.  With 
views  like  these,  he  lent  a  greedy  ear  to  the 
plausible  falsehoods  of  the  Canadians,  who  assured 
him  that  the  armies  of  King  Louis  were  already 
advancing  to  recover  Canada,  and  that  the  French 
and  their  red  brethren,  fighting  side  by  side,  would 
drive  the  English  dogs  back  within  their  own 
narrow  limits. 

Revolving  these  thoughts,  and  remembering  that 
his  own  ambitious  views  might  be  advanced  by  the 
hostilities  he  meditated,  Pontiac  no  longer  hesitated. 
Kevenge,  ambition,  and  patriotism  wrought  upon 
him  alike,  and  he  resolved  on  war.  At  the  close 
of  the  year  1762,  he  sent  ambassadors  to  the  dif- 
ferent nations.  They  visited  the  country  of  the 
Ohio  and  its  tributaries,  passed  northward  to  the 
region  of  the  upper  lakes,  and  the  borders  of 
the  E-iver  Ottawa  ;  and  far  southward  towards  the 
mouth  of  the  Mississippi.^  Bearing  with  them 
the  war-belt  of  wampum,^  broad  and  long,  as  the 

1  MS.  Letter  — M.  D'Ahhadie  to  M.  Neyon,  1764. 

2  Wampum  was  an  article  much  in  use  among  many  tribes,  not  only 
for  ornament,  but  for  the  graver  purposes  of  councils,  treaties,  and  embas- 


1760-1763.]  AMBASSADORS   OF  PONTIAC.  187 

importance  of  the  message  demanded,  and  the  toma- 
hawk stained  red,  in  token  of  war,  they  went  from 
camp  to  camp,  and  village  to  village.  Wherever 
they  appeared,  the  sachems  and  old  men  assembled, 
to  hear  the  words  of  the  great  Pontiac.  Then  the 
chief  of  the  embassy  flung  down  the  tomahawk  on 
the  ground  before  them,  and  holding  the  war-belt 
in  his  hand,  delivered,  with  vehement  gesture,  word 
for  word,  the  speech  with  which  he  was  charged. 
It  was  heard  everywhere  with  approval ;  the  belt 
was  accepted,  the  hatchet  snatched  up,  and  the 
assembled  chiefs  stood  pledged  to  take  part  in 
the  war.  The  blow  was  to  be  struck  at  a  certain 
time  in  the  month  of  May  following,  to  be  indicated 
by  the  changes  of  the  moon.  The  tribes  were  to 
rise  together,  each  destroying  the  English  garrison 
in  its  neighborhood,  and  then,  with  a  general  rush, 
the  whole  were  to  turn  against  the  settlements 
of  the  frontier. 

The  tribes,  thus  banded  together  against  the  Eng- 
lish, comprised,  with  a  few  unimportant  exceptions, 
the  whole  Algonquin  stock,  to  whom  were  united 
the  Wyandots,  the  Senecas,  and  several  tribes  of 
the  lower  Mississippi.  The  Senecas  were  the  only 
members  of  the  Iroquois  confederacy  who  joined 
in  the  league,  the  rest  being  kept  quiet  by  the 
influence   of  Sir  William  Johnson,  whose  utmost 


sies.  In  ancient  times  it  consisted  of  small  shells,  or  fragments  of  shells, 
rudely  perforated,  and  strung  together  ;  but  more  recently,  it  was  manu- 
factured by  the  white  men,  from  the  inner  portions  of  certain  marine  and 
fresh  water  shells.  In  shape,  the  grains  or  beads  resembled  small  pieces  of 
broken  pipe-stem,  and  were  of  various  sizes  and  colors,  black,  purple,  and 
white.     When  used  for  ornament,  they  were  arranged  fancifully  in  neck- 


188  THE  CONSPIRACY.  [1760-1763. 

exertions,  however,  were  barely  sufficient  to  allay 
their  irritation.^ 

While  thus  on  the  very  eve  of  an  outbreak,  the 
Indians  concealed  their  designs  with  the  dissimu- 
lation of  their  race.  The  warriors  still  lounged 
about  the  forts,  with  calm,  impenetrable  faces, 
begging,  as  usual,  for  tobacco,  gunpowder,  and 
whiskey.  Now  and  then,  some  slight  intimation 
of  danger  would  startle  the  garrisons  from  their 
security.  An  English  trader,  coming  in  from  the 
Indian  villages,  would  report  that,  from  their  man- 
ner and  behavior,  he  suspected  them  of  brooding 
mischief;  or  some  scoundrel  half-breed  would  be 
heard  boasting  in  his  cups,  that  before  next  sum- 
mer he  would  have  English  hair  to  fringe  his  hunt- 

laces,  collars,  and  embroidery ;  but  when  employed  for  public  purposes, 
they  were  disposed  in  a  great  variety  of  patterns  and  devices,  which,  to 
the  minds  of  the  Indians,  had  all  the  significance  of  hieroglyphics.  An 
Indian  orator,  at  every  clause  of  his  speech,  delivered  a  belt  or  string  of 
wampum,  varying  in  size,  according  to  the  importance  of  what  he  had 
said,  and,  by  its  figures  and  coloring,  so  arranged  as  to  perpetuate  the 
remembrance  of  his  words.  These  belts  were  carefully  stored  up  like 
written  documents,  and  it  was  generally  the  office  of  some  old  man  to 
interpret  their  meaning. 

When  a  wampum  belt  was  sent  to  summon  the  tribes  to  join  in  war,  its 
color  was  always  red  or  black,  while  the  prevailing  color  of  a  peace-belt 
was  white.  Tobacco  was  sometimes  used  on  such  occasions  as  a  substi- 
tute for  wampum,  since  in  their  councils  the  Indians  are  in  the  habit  of 
constantly  smoking,  and  tobacco  is  therefore  taken  as  the  emblem  of 
deliberation.  With  the  tobacco  or  the  belt  of  wampum,  presents  are  not 
unfrequently  sent  to  conciliate  the  good  will  of  the  tribe  whose  alliance  is 
sought.  In  the  summer  of  the  year  1846,  when  the  western  bands  of  the 
DahcotaJi  were  preparing  to  go  in  concert  against  their  enemies  the 
Crows,  the  chief  who  was  at  the  head  of  the  design,  and  of  whose  village 
the  writer  was  an  inmate,  impoverished  himself  by  sending  most  of  his 
horses  as  presents  to  the  chiefs  of  the  surrounding  villages.  On  this 
occasion,  tobacco  was  the  token  borne  by  the  messengers,  as  wampum  is 
not  in  use  among  the  tribes  of  that  region. 
1  MS.  Johnson  Papers. 


1763.]  DISSIMULATION  OF   THE   INDIANS.  189 

ing-frock.  On  one  occasion,  the  plot  was  nearly 
discovered.  Early  in  March,  1763,  Ensign  Holmes, 
commanding  at  Fort  Miami,  was  told  by  a  friendly 
Indian  that  the  warriors  in  the  neighboring  village 
had  lately  received  a  war-belt,  with  a  message  urg- 
ing them  to  destroy  him  and  his  garrison,  and  that 
this  they  were  preparing  to  do.  Holmes  called  the 
Indians  together,  and  boldly  charged  them  with 
their  design.  They  did  as  Indians  on  such  occa- 
sions have  often  done,  confessed  their  fault  with 
much  apparent  contrition,  laid  the  blame  on  a 
neighboring  tribe,  and  professed  eternal  friendship 
to  their  brethren,  the  English.  Holmes  writes  to 
report  his  discovery  to  Major  Gladwyn,  who,  in  his 
turn,  sends  the  information  to  Sir  Jeffrey  Amherst, 
expressing  his  opinion  that  there  has  been  a  general 
irritation  among  the  Indians,  but  that  the  affair  will 
soon  blow  over,  and  that,  in  the  neighborhood  of 
his  own  post,  the  savages  were  perfectly  tranquil.^ 
Within  cannon  shot  of  the  deluded  officer's  pali- 
sades, was  the  village  of  Pontiac  himself,  the  arch 


1  MS.  Speech  of  a  Miami  Chief  to  Ensign  Hdmes.  MS.  Letter —  Holmes 
to  Gladwj/n,  March  16,  1763.     Gladioyn  to  Amherst,  March  21,  1763. 

Extract  from  a  MS.  Letter  —  Ensign  Holmes  commanding  at  Miamis,  to 
Major  Gladwyn :  — 

{"  Fort  Miamis. 
March  30th,  1763. 

"Since  my  Last  Letter  to  You,  wherein  I  Acquainted  You  of  the 

Bloody  Belt  being  in  this  Village,  I  have  made  all  the  search  I  could 

about  it,  and  have  found  it  out  to  be  True ;  Whereon  I  Assembled  all 

the  Chiefs  of  this  Nation,  &  after  a  long  and  troublesome  Spell  with  them, 

I  Obtained  the  Belt,  with  a  Speech,  as  You  will  Receive  Enclosed ;  This 

Affair  is  very  timely  Stopt,  and  I  hope  the  News  of  a  Peace  will  put  a 

Stop  to  any  further  Troubles  with  these  Indians,  who  are  the  Principal 

Ones  of  Setting  Mischief  on  Foot.     I  send  you  the  Belt,  with  this  Packet, 

which  I  hope  You  will  Forward  to  the  General." 


190  THE   CONSPIRACY.  [1763. 

enemy  of  the   English,  and   prime    mover  in  the 
plot. 

With  the  approach  of  spring,  the  Indians,  com- 
ing in  from  their  wintering  grounds,  began  to  appear 
in  small  parties  about  the  various  forts  ;  but  now 
they  seldom  entered  them,  encamping  at  a  little 
distance  in  the  woods.  They  were  fast  pushing 
their  preparations  for  the  meditated  blow,  and 
waiting  with  stifled  eagerness  for  the  appointed 
hour. 


CHAPTER    VIII. 

1763. 
INDIAN  PREPAKATION. 

I  INTERRUPT  the  progress  of  the  narrative  to 
glance  for  a  moment  at  the  Indians  in  their  mili- 
tary capacity,  and  observe  how  far  they  were  qual- 
ified to  prosecute  the  formidable  war  into  which 
they  were  about  to  plunge. 

A  people  living  chiefly  by  the  chase,  and  there- 
fore, of  necessity,  thinly  and  widely  scattered ; 
divided  into  numerous  tribes,  held  together  by  no 
strong  principle  of  cohesion,  and  with  no  central 
government  to  combine  their  strength,  could  act 
with  little  efficiency  against  such  an  enemy  as  was 
now  opposed  to  them.  Loose  and  disjointed  as  a 
whole,  the  government  even  of  individual  tribes, 
and  of  their  smallest  separate  communities,  was  too 
feeble  to  deserve  the  name.  There  were,  it  is  true, 
chiefs  whose  office  was  in  a  manner  hereditary ; 
but  their  authority  was  wholly  of  a  moral  nature, 
and  enforced  by  no  compulsory  law.  Their  prov- 
ince was  to  advise,  and  not  to  command.  Their 
influence,  such  as  it  was,  is  chiefly  to  be  ascribed 
to  the  principle  of  hero-worship,  natural  to  the 


192  INDIAN  PREPARATION.  [1763. 

Indian  character,  and  to  the  reverence  for  age, 
which  belongs  to  a  state  of  society  where  a  patri- 
archal element  largely  prevails.  It  was  their  office 
to  declare  war  and  make  peace  ;  but  when  war  was 
declared,  they  had  no  power  to  carry  the  declara- 
tion into  effect.  The  warriors  fought  if  they  chose 
to  do  so  ;  but  if,  on  the  contrary,  they  preferred  to 
remain  quiet,  no  man  could  force  them  to  raise  the 
hatchet.  The  war-chief,  whose  part  it  was  to  lead 
them  to  battle,  was  a  mere  partisan,  whom  his 
bravery  and  exploits  had  led  to  distinction.  If  he 
thought  proper,  he  sang  his  war-song  and  danced 
his  war-dance  ;  and  as  many  of  the  young  men  as 
were  disposed  to  follow  him,  gathered  around  and 
enlisted  themselves  under  him.  Over  these  volun- 
teers he  had  no  legal  authority,  and  they  could 
desert  him  at  any  moment,  with  no  other  penalty 
than  disgrace.  When  several  war  parties,  of  differ- 
ent bands  or  tribes,  were  united  in  a  common  en- 
terprise, their  chiefs  elected  a  leader,  who  was 
nominally  to  command  the  whole  ;  but  unless  this 
leader  was  a  man  of  uncommon  reputation  and 
ability,  his  commands  were  disregarded,  and  his 
authority  was  a  cipher.  Among  his  followers, 
every  latent  element  of  discord,  pride,  jealousy, 
and  ancient  half-smothered  feuds,  were  ready  at 
any  moment  to  break  out,  and  tear  the  whole 
asunder.  His  warriors  would  often  desert  in  bodies ; 
and  many  an  Indian  army,  before  reaching  the 
enemy's  country,  has  been  known  to  dwindle  away 
until  it  was  reduced  to  a  mere  scalping  party. 
To  twist  a  rope  of  sand  would  be  as  easy  a  task 


1763.]  INDIANS  AS  A  MILITARY  PEOPLE.  193 

as  to  form  a  permanent  and  effective  army  of  such 
materials.  The  wild  love  of  freedom,  and  impa- 
tience of  all  control,  which  mark  the  Indian  race, 
render  them  utterly  intolerant  of  military  discipline. 
Partly  from  their  individual  character,  and  partly 
from  this  absence  of  subordination,  spring  results 
highly  unfavorable  to  continued  and  extended  mil- 
itary operations.  Indian  warriors,  when  acting  in 
large  masses,  are  to  the  last  degree  wayward,  ca- 
pricious, and  unstable  ;  infirm  of  purpose  as  a  mob 
of  children,  and  devoid  of  providence  and  fore- 
sight. To  provide  supplies  for  a  campaign  forms 
no  part  of  their  system.  Hence  the  blow  must  be 
struck  at  once,  or  not  struck  at  all;  and  to  post- 
pone victory  is  to  insure  defeat.  It  is  when  acting 
in  small,  detached  parties,  that  the  Indian  warrior 
puts  forth  his  energies,  and  displays  his  admirable 
address,  endurance,  and  intrepidity.  It  is  then  that 
he  becomes  a  truly  formidable  enemy.  Fired  with 
the  hope  of  winning  scalps,  he  is  stanch  as  a  blood- 
hound. No  hardship  can  divert  him  from  his 
purpose,  and  no  danger  subdue  his  patient  and 
cautious  courage. 

From  their  inveterate  passion  for  war,  the  Indians 
are  always  prompt  enough  to  engage  in  it ;  and  on 
the  present  occasion,  the  prevailing  irritation  gave 
ample  assurance  that  they  would  not  remain  idle. 
While  there  was  little  risk  that  they  would  capture 
any  strong  and  well-defended  fort,  or  carry  any 
important  position,  there  was,  on  the  other  hand, 
every  reason  to  apprehend  wide-spread  havoc,  and 
a  destructive  war  of  detail.     That  the  war  might 

13 


194  INDIAN  PREPARATION.  [1763. 

be  carried  on  with  effect,  it  was  the  part  of  the 
Indian  leaders  to  work  upon  the  passions  of  their 
people,  and  keep  alive  their  irritation  ;  to  whet 
their  native  appetite  for  blood  and  glory,  and  cheer 
them  on  to  the  attack  ;  to  guard  against  all  that 
might  quench  their  ardor,  or  cool  their  fierceness  ; 
to  avoid  pitched  battles  ;  never  to  fight  except  under 
advantage ;  and  to  avail  themselves  of  all  the  aid 
which  craft  and  treachery  could  afford.  The  very 
circumstances  which  unfitted  the  Indians  for  con- 
tinued and  concentrated  attack  were,  in  another 
view,  highly  advantageous,  by  preventing  the  enemy 
from  assailing  them  with  vital  effect.  It  was  no 
easy  task  to  penetrate  tangled  woods  in  search  of 
a  foe,  alert  and  active  as  a  lynx,  who  would  seldom 
stand  and  fight,  whose  deadly  shot  and  triumphant 
whoop  were  the  first  and  often  the  last  tokens  of 
his  presence,  and  who,  at  the  approach  of  a  hostile 
force,  would  vanish  into  the  black  recesses  of  for- 
ests and  pine  swamps,  only  to  renew  his  attacks 
with  unabated  ardor.  There  were  no  forts  to  cap- 
ture, no  magazines  to  destroy,  and  little  property 
to  seize  upon.  No  warfare  could  be  more  perilous 
and  harassing  in  its  prosecution,  or  less  satisfactory 
in  its  results. 

The  English  colonies  at  this  time  were  but  ill 
fitted  to  bear  the  brunt  of  the  impending  war. 
The  army  which  had  conquered  Canada  was 
broken  up  and  dissolved ;  the  provincials  were 
disbanded,  and  most  of  the  regulars  sent  home. 
A  few  fragments  of  regiments,  miserably  wasted 
by  war  and  sickness,  had  just  arrived   from  the 


1763.]  THE   PEACE   OF  PARIS.  195 

West  Indies  ;  and  of  these,  several  were  already 
ordered  to  England,  to  be  disbanded.  There 
remained  barely  troops  enough  to  furnish  feeble 
garrisons  for  the  various  forts  on  the  frontier  and 
in  the  Indian  country.^  At  the  head  of  this  dilapi- 
dated army  was  Sir  Jeffrey  Amherst,  who  had 
achieved  the  reduction  of  Canada,  and  clinched 
the  nail  which  Wolfe  had  driven.  In  some 
respects  he  was  well  fitted  for  the  emergency; 
but,  on  the  other  hand,  he  held  the  Indians  in 
supreme  contempt,  and  his  arbitrary  treatment  of 
them  and  total  want  of  every  quality  of  concilia- 
tion where  they  were  concerned,  had  had  no  little 
share  in  exciting  them  to  war. 

While  the  war  was  on  the  eve  of  breaking  out, 
an  event  occurred  which  had  afterwards  an  impor* 
tant  effect  upon  its  progress,  —  the  signing  of  the 
treaty  of  peace  at  Paris,  on  the  tenth  of  February, 
1763.  By  this  treaty  France  resigned  her  claims 
to  the  territories  east  of  the  Mississippi,  and  that 
great  river  now  became  the  western  boundary  of 
the  British  colonial  possessions.  In  portioning  out 
her  new  acquisitions  into  separate  governments, 
England  left  the  valley  of  the  Ohio  and  the  adja- 
cent regions  as  an  Indian  domain,  and  by  the 
proclamation  of  the  seventh  of  October  following, 
the  intrusion  of  settlers  upon  these  lands  was 
strictly  prohibited.  Could  these  just  and  neces- 
sary measures  have  been  sooner  adopted,  it  is 
probable  that  the   Indian  war  might   have    been 

1  Mante,  485. 


196  INDIAN  PREPARATION.  [1763. 

prevented,  or,  at  all  events,  rendered  less  general 
and  violent,  for  the  treaty  would  have  made  it 
apparent  that  the  French  could  never  repossess 
themselves  of  Canada,  and  would  have  proved  the 
futility  of  every  hope  which  the  Indians  entertained 
of  assistance  from  that  quarter,  while,  at  the  same 
time,  the  royal  proclamation  w^ould  have  tended  to 
tranquillize  their  minds,  by  removing  the  chief 
cause  of  irritation.  But  the  remedy  came  too  late, 
and  served  only  to  inflame  the  evil.  While  the 
sovereigns  of  France,  England,  and  Spain,  were 
signing  the  treaty  at  Paris,  countless  Indian  war- 
riors in  the  American  forests  were  singing  the 
war-song,  and  whetting  their  scalping-knives. 

Throughout  the  western  wilderness,  in  a  hundred 
camps  and  villages,  were  celebrated  the  savage  rites 
of  war.  Warriors,  women,  and  children  were  alike 
eager  and  excited ;  magicians  consulted  their  ora- 
cles, and  prepared  charms  to  insure  success  ;  while 
the  war-chief,  his  body  painted  black  from  head  to 
foot,  concealed  himself  in  the  solitude  of  rocks  and 
caverns,  or  the  dark  recesses  of  the  forest.  Here, 
fasting  and  praying,  he  calls  day  and  night  upon 
the  Great  Spirit,  consulting  his  dreams,  to  draw 
from  them  auguries  of  good  or  evil ;  and  if,  per- 
chance, a  vision  of  the  great  war-eagle  seems  to 
hover  over  him  with  expanded  wings,  he  exults  in 
the  full  conviction  of  triumph.  When  a  few  days 
have  elapsed,  he  emerges  from  his  retreat,  and  the 
people  discover  him  descending  from  the  woods, 
and  approaching  their  camp,  black  as  a  demon  of 
war,  and  shrunken  with  fasting  and  vigil.    They 


1763.]  THE  WAR-FEAST.  197 

flock  around  and  listen  to  his  wild  harangue.  He 
calls  on  them  to  avenge  the  blood  of  their  slaugh- 
tered relatives ;  he  assures  them  that  the  Great 
Spirit  is  on  their  side,  and  that  victory  is  certain. 
With  exulting  cries  they  disperse  to  their  wigwams, 
to  array  themselves  in  the  savage  decorations  of 
the  war-dress.  An  old  man  now  passes  through 
the  camp,  and  invites  the  warriors  to  a  feast  in  the 
name  of  the  chief.  They  gather  from  all  quarters 
to  his  wigwam,  where  they  find  him  seated,  no 
longer  covered  with  black,  but  adorned  with  the 
startling  and  fantastic  blazonry  of  the  war-paint. 
Those  who  join  in  the  feast  pledge  themselves,  by 
so  doing,  to  follow  him  against  the  enemy.  The 
guests  seat  themselves  on  the  ground,  in  a  circle 
around  the  wigwam,  and  the  flesh  of  dogs  is  placed 
in  wooden  dishes  before  them,  while  the  chief, 
though  goaded  by  the  pangs  of  his  long,  unbroken 
fast,  sits  smoking  his  pipe  with  unmoved  counte- 
nance, and  takes  no  part  in  the  feast. 

Night  has  now  closed  in  ;  and  the  rough  clear- 
ing is  illumined  by  the  blaze  of  fires  and  burning 
pine-knots,  casting  their  deep  red  glare  upon  the 
dusky  boughs  of  the  surrounding  forest,  and  upon 
the  wild  multitude  who,  fluttering  with  feathers 
and  bedaubed  with  paint,  have  gathered  for  the 
celebration  of  the  war -dance.  A  painted  post  is 
driven  into  the  ground,  and  the  crowd  form  a  wide 
circle  around  it.  The  chief  leaps  into  the  vacant 
space,  brandishing  his  hatchet  as  if  rushing  upon 
an  enemy,  and,  in  a  loud,  vehement  tone,  chants 
his  own  exploits  and  those  of  his  ancestors,  enact- 


198  INDIAN  PREPARATION.  [1763. 

ing  the  deeds  which  he  describes,  yelling  the  war- 
whoop,  throwing  himself  into  all  the  postures  of 
actual  fight,  striking  the  post  as  if  it  were  an 
enemy,  and  tearing  the  scalp  from  the  head  of  the 
imaginary  victim.  Warrior  after  warrior  follows 
his  example,  until  the  whole  assembly,  as  if  fired 
with  sudden  frenzy,  rush  together  into  the  ring, 
leaping,  stamping,  and  whooping,  brandishing 
knives  and  hatchets  in  the  fire-light,  hacking  and 
stabbing  the  air,  and  breaking  at  intervals  into  a 
burst  of  ferocious  yells,  which  sounds  for  miles 
away  over  the  lonely,  midnight  forest. 

In  the  morning,  the  warriors  prepare  to  depart. 
They  leave  the  camp  in  single  file,  still  decorated 
with  all  their  finery  of  paint,  feathers,  and  scalp- 
locks  ;  and,  as  they  enter  the  woods,  the  chief  fires 
his  gun,  the  warrior  behind  follows  his  example, 
and  the  discharges  pass  in  slow  succession  from 
front  to  rear,  the  salute  concluding  with  a  general 
whoop.  They  encamp  at  no  great  distance  from 
the  village,  and  divest  themselves  of  their  much- 
prized  ornaments,  which  are  carried  back  by  the 
women,  who  have  followed  them  for  this  purpose. 
The  warriors  pursue  their  journey,  clad  in  the 
rough  attire  of  hard  service,  and  move  silently  and 
stealthily  through  the  forest  towards  the  hapless 
garrison,  or  defenceless  settlement,  which  they 
have  marked  as  their  prey. 

The  woods  were  now  filled  with  war-parties 
such  as  this,  and  soon  the  first  tokens  of  the 
approaching  tempest  began  to  alarm  the  unhappy 
settlers  of  the  frontier.     At  first,  some  trader  or 


1763.1  WAR  PARTIES.  199 

hunter,  weak  and  emaciated,  would  come  in  from 
the  forest,  and  relate  that  his  companions  had  been 
butchered  in  the  Indian  villages,  and  that  he  alone 
had  escaped.  Next  succeeded  vague  and  un- 
certain rumors  of  forts  attacked  and  garrisons 
slaughtered ;  and  soon  after,  a  report  gained 
ground  that  every  post  throughout  the  Indian 
country  had  been  taken,  and  every  soldier  killed. 
Close  upon  these  tidings  came  the  enemy  himself 
The  Indian  war-parties  broke  out  of  the  woods 
like  gangs  of  wolves,  murdering,  burning,  and 
laying  waste ;  while  hundreds  of  terror-stricken 
families,  abandoning  their  homes,  fled  for  refuge 
towards  the  older  settlements,  and  aU  was  misery 
and  ruin. 

Passing  over,  for  the  present,  this  portion  of 
the  war,  we  will  penetrate  at  once  into  the  heart 
of  the  Indian  country,  and  observe  those  pas- 
sages of  the  conflict  which  took  place  under  the 
auspices  of  Pontiac  himself,  —  the  siege  of  Detroit, 
and  the  capture  of  the  interior  posts  and  gar- 
risons. 


CHAPTER    IX. 

1763. 
THE  COUNCIL  AT  THE  RIVER  ECORCES. 

To  begin  the  war  was  reserved  by  Pontiac  as  his 
own  peculiar  privilege.  With  the  first  opening  of 
spring  his  preparations  were  complete.  His  light- 
footed  messengers,  with  their  wampum  belts  and 
gifts  of  tobacco,  visited  many  a  lonely  hunting  camp 
in  the  gloom  of  the  northern  woods,  and  called 
chiefs  and  warriors  to  attend  the  general  meeting. 
The  appointed  spot  was  on  the  banks  of  the  little 
River  Ecorces,  not  far  from  Detroit.  Thither  went 
Pontiac  himself,  with  his  squaws  and  his  children. 
Band  after  band  came  straggling  in  from  every  side, 
until  the  meadow  was  thickly  dotted  with  their  frail 
wigwams.^  Here  were  idle  warriors  smoking  and 
laughing  in  groups,  or  beguiling  the  lazy  hours 
with  gambling,  feasting,  or  doubtful  stories  of  their 
own  martial  exploits.  Here  were  youthful  gallants, 
bedizened  with  all  the  foppery  of  beads,  feathers, 
and  hawks'  bells,  but  held  as  yet  in  light  esteem, 
since  they  had  slain  no  enemy,  and  taken  no  scalp. 

1  Pontiac,  MS.     See  Appendix,  C. 


1763,  April.]  A  MOTLEY  ENCAMPMENT.  201 

Here  too  were  young  damsels,  radiant  with  bears' 
oil,  ruddy  with  vermihon,  and  versed  in  all  the 
arts  of  forest  coquetry  ;  shrivelled  hags,  with  limbs 
of  wire,  and  the  voices  of  screech-owls  ;  and  troops 
of  naked  children,  with  small,  black,  mischievous 
eyes,  roaming  along  the  outskirts  of  the  woods. 

The  great  Koman  historian  observes  of  the 
ancient  Germans,  that  when  summoned  to  a  pub- 
lic meeting,  they  would  lag  behind  the  appointed 
time  in  order  to  show  their  independence.  The 
remark  holds  true,  and  perhaps  with  greater 
emphasis,  of  the  American  Indians ;  and  thus  it 
happened,  that  several  days  elapsed  before  the 
assembly  was  complete.  In  such  a  motley  con- 
course of  barbarians,  where  different  bands  and 
different  tribes  were  mustered  on  one  common 
camp  ground,  it  would  need  all  the  art  of  a  pru- 
dent leader  to  prevent  their  dormant  jealousies 
from  starting  into  open  strife.  No  people  are 
more  prompt  to  quarrel,  and  none  more  prone,  in 
the  fierce  excitement  of  the  present,  to  forget  the 
purpose  of  the  future  ;  yet,  through  good  fortune, 
or  the  wisdom  of  Pontiac,  no  rupture  occurred ; 
and  at  length  the  last  loiterer  appeared,  and  farther 
delay  was  needless. 

The  council  took  place  on  the  twenty-seventh 
of  April.  On  that  morning,  several  old  men,  the 
heralds  of  the  camp,  passed  to  and  fro  among 
the  lodges,  calling  the  warriors,  in  a  loud  voice, 
to  attend  the  meeting. 

In  accordance  with  the  summons,  they  issued 
from  their  cabins:   the  tall,  naked  figures  of  the 


202  THE   COUNCIL.  [1763,  April. 

wild  Ojibwas,  with  quivers  slung  at  their  backs, 
and  light  war-clubs  resting  in  the  hollow  of  their 
arms ;  Ottawas,  wrapped  close  in  their  gaudy 
blankets  ;  Wyandots,  fluttering  in  painted  shirts, 
their  heads  adorned  with  feathers,  and  their  leggins 
garnished  with  bells.  All  were  soon  seated  in  a 
wide  circle  upon  the  grass,  row  within  row,  a  grave 
and  silent  assembly.  Each  savage  countenance 
seemed  carved  in  wood,  and  none  could  have 
detected  the  ferocious  passions  hidden  beneatli 
that  immovable  mask.  Pipes  with  ornamented 
stems  were  lighted,  and  passed  from  hand  to  hand. 

Then  Pontiac  rose,  and  walked  forward  into  the 
midst  of  the  council.  According  to  Canadian  tra- 
dition, he  was  not  above  the  middle  height,  though 
his  muscular  figure  was  cast  in  a  mould  of  remark- 
able symmetry  and  vigor.  His  complexion  was 
darker  than  is  usual  with  his  race,  and  his  features, 
though  by  no  means  regular,  had  a  bold  and  stern 
expression ;  while  his  habitual  bearing  was  impe- 
rious and  peremptory,  like  that  of  a  man  accus- 
tomed to  sweep  away  all  opposition  by  the  force 
of  his  impetuous  will.  His  ordinary  attire  was  that 
of  the  primitive  savage,  —  a  scanty  cincture  girt 
about  his  loins,  and  his  long,  black  hair  flowing 
loosely  at  his  back ;  but  on  occasions  like  this 
he  was  wont  to  appear  as  befitted  his  power 
and  character,  and  he  stood  doubtless  before  the 
council  plumed  and  painted  in  the  full  costume 
of  war. 

Looking  round  upon  his  wild  auditors  he  began 
to  speak,  with  fierce  gesture,  and  a  loud,  impas- 


1763,  April.]  SPEECH  OF  PONTIAC.  203 

sioned  voice  ;  and  at  every  pause,  deep,  guttural 
ejaculations  of  assent  and  approval  responded  to 
his  words.  He  inveighed  against  the  arrogance, 
rapacity,  and  injustice,  of  the  English,  and  con- 
trasted them  with  the  French,  whom  they  had 
driven  from  the  soil.  He  declared  that  the  British 
commandant  had  treated  him  with  neglect  and 
contempt ;  that  the  soldiers  of  the  garrison  had 
abused  the  Indians ;  and  that  one  of  them  had 
struck  a  follower  of  his  own.  He  represented  the 
danger  that  would  arise  from  the  supremacy  of 
the  English.  They  had  expelled  the  French,  and 
now  they  only  waited  for  a  pretext  to  turn  upon 
the  Indians  and  destroy  them.  Then,  holding  out 
a  broad  belt  of  wampum,  he  told  the  council  that 
he  had  received  it  from  their  great  father  the  King 
of  France,  in  token  that  he  had  heard  the  voice  of 
his  red  children ;  that  his  sleep  was  at  an  end  ; 
and  that  his  great  war  canoes  would  soon  sail  up 
the  St.  Lawrence,  to  win  back  Canada,  and  wreak 
vengeance  on  his  enemies.  The  Indians  and  their 
French  brethren  would  fight  once  more  side  by 
side,  as  they  had  always  fought ;  they  would 
strike  the  English  as  they  had  struck  them  many 
moons  ago,  when  their  great  army  marched  down 
the  Monongahela,  and  they  had  shot  them  from 
their  ambush,  like  a  flock  of  pigeons  in  the 
woods. 

Having  roused  in  his  warlike  listeners  their 
native  thirst  for  blood  and  vengeance,  he  next 
addressed  himself  to  their  superstition,  and  told 
the  following  tale.     Its  precise  origin  is  not  easy 


204  THE   COUNCIL.  [1763,  April. 

to  determine.  It  is  possible  that  the  Delaware 
prophet,  mentioned  in  a  former  chapter,  may  have 
had  some  part  in  it;  or  it  might  have  been  the 
offspring  of  Pontiac's  heated  imagination,  during 
his  period  of  fasting  and  dreaming.  That  he 
deliberately  invented  it  for  the  sake  of  the  effect 
it  would  produce,  is  the  least  probable  conclusion 
of  all  ;  for  it  evidently  proceeds  from  the  supersti- 
tious mind  of  an  Indian,  brooding  upon  the  evil 
days  in  which  his  lot  was  cast,  and  turning  for 
relief  to  the  mysterious  Author  of  his  being.  It  is, 
at  all  events,  a  characteristic  specimen  of  the 
Indian  legendary  tales,  and,  like  many  of  them, 
bears  an  allegoric  signiiicancy.  Yet  he  who 
endeavors  to  interpret  ah  Indian  allegory  through 
all  its  erratic  windings  and  puerile  inconsistencies, 
has  undertaken  no  enviable  task. 

"  A  Delaware  Indian,"  said  Pontiac,  "  conceived 
an  eager  desire  to  learn  wisdom  from  the  Master 
of  Life  ;  but,  being  ignorant  where  to  find  him,  he 
had  recourse  to  fasting,  dreaming,  and  magical 
incantations.  By  these  means  it  was  revealed  to 
him,  that,  by  moving  forward  in  a  straight,  unde- 
viating  course,  he  would  reach  the  abode  of  the 
Great  Spirit.  He  told  his  purpose  to  no  one,  and 
having  provided  the  equipments  of  a  hunter, — 
gun,  powder-horn,  ammunition,  and  a  kettle  for 
preparing  his  food, — he  set  out  on  his  errand. 
For  some  time  he  journeyed  on  in  high  hope  and 
confidence.  On  the  evening  of  the  eighth  day,  he 
stopped  by  the  side  of  a  brook  at  the  edge  of  a 
meadow,  where     he    began    to    make    ready    his 


1763,  Apuil.]     allegory   OF  THE   DELAWARE.  205 

evening  meal,  when,  looking  up,  he  saw  three 
hirge  openings  in  the  woods  before  him,  and  three 
well-beaten  paths  which  entered  them.  He  was 
much  surprised  ;  but  his  wonder  increased,  when, 
after  it  had  grown  dark,  the  three  paths  were  more 
clearly  visible  than  ever.  Kemembering  the  impor- 
tant object  of  his  journey,  he  could  neither  rest  nor 
sleep  ;  and,  leaving  his  fire,  he  crossed  the  meadow, 
and  entered  the  largest  of  the  three  openings.  He 
had  advanced  but  a  short  distance  into  the  forest, 
when  a  bright  flame  sprang  out  of  the  ground 
before  him,  and  arrested  his  steps.  In  great  amaze- 
ment, he  turned  back,  and  entered  the  second  path, 
where  the  same  wonderful  phenomenon  again 
encountered  him  ;  and  now,  in  terror  and  bewilder- 
ment, yet  still  resolved  to  persevere,  he  took  the 
last  of  the  three  paths.  On  this  he  journeyed  a 
whole  day  without  interruption,  when  at  length, 
emerging  from  the  forest,  he  saw  before  him  a  vast 
mountain,  of  dazzling  whiteness.  So  precipitous 
was  the  ascent,  that  the  Indian  thought  it  hopeless 
to  go  farther,  and  looked  around  him  in  despair : 
at  that  moment,  he  saw,  seated  at  some  distance 
above,  the  figure  of  a  beautiful  woman  arrayed  in 
white,  who  arose  as  he  looked  upon  her,  and  thus 
accosted  him  :  '  How  can  you  hope,  encumbered 
as  you  are,  to  succeed  in  your  design?  Go  down 
to  the  foot  of  the  mountain,  throw  away  your  gun, 
your  ammunition,  your  provisions,  and  your  cloth- 
ing ;  wash  yourself  in  the  stream  which  flows 
there,  and  you  will  then  be  prepared  to  stand 
before  the  Master  of  Life.'     The  Indian  obeyed, 


206  THE   COUNCIL.  [1763,  April. 

and  again  began  to  ascend  among  the  rocks,  while 
the  woman,  seeing  him  still  discouraged,  laughed 
at  his  faintness  of  heart,  and  told  him  that,  if  be 
wished  for  success,  he  must  climb  by  the  aid  of 
one  hand  and  one  foot  only.  After  great  toil  and 
suffering,  he  at  length  found  himself  at  the  summit. 
The  woman  had  disappeared,  and  he  was  left  alone,  j 
A  rich  and  beautiful  plain  lay  before  him,  and  at 
a  little  distance  he  saw  three  great  villages,  far 
superior  to  the  squalid  wigwams  of  the  Delawares. 
As  he  approached  the  largest,  and  stood  hesitating 
whether  he  should  enter,  a  man  gorgeously  attired 
stepped  forth,  and,  taking  him  by  the  hand,  wel- 
comed him  to  the  celestial  abode.  He  then  con- 
ducted him  into  the  presence  of  the  Great  Spirit, 
where  the  Indian  stood  confounded  at  the  unspeak- 
able splendor  which  surrounded  him.  The  Great 
Spirit  bade  him  be  seated,  and  thus  addressed 
him  :  — 

"  '  I  am  the  Maker  of  heaven  and  earth,  the  trees, 
lakes,  rivers,  and  all  things  else.  I  am  the  Maker 
of  mankind  ;  and  because  I  love  you,  you  must  do 
my  will.  The  land  on  which  you  live  I  have  made 
for  you,  and  not  for  others.  Why  do  you  suffer 
the  white  men  to  dwell  among  you  ?  My  children, 
you  have  forgotten  the  customs  and  traditions  of 
your  forefathers.  Why  do  you  not  clothe  yourselves 
in  skins,  as  they  did,  and  use  the  bows  and  arrows, 
and  the  stone-pointed  lances,  which  they  used? 
You  have  bought  guns,  knives,  kettles,  and  blank- 
ets, from  the  white  men,  until  you  can  no  longer  do 
without  them  ;  and,  what  is  worse,  you  have  drunk 


1763,  April.]     ALLEGORY   OF   THE   DELAWARE.  207 

the  poison  iire-water,  which  turns  you  into  fools. 
Fling  all  these  things  away  ;  live  as  your  wise 
forefathers  lived  before  you.  And  as  for  these 
English,  —  these  dogs  dressed  in  red,  who  have 
come  to  rob  you  of  your  hunting-grounds,  and 
drive  away  the  game, — you  must  lift  the  hatchet 
against  them.  Wipe  them  from  the  face  of  the 
earth,  and  then  you  will  win  my  favor  back  again, 
and  once  more  be  happy  and  prosperous.  The  chil- 
dren of  your  great  father,  the  King  of  France, 
are  not  like  the  English.  Never  forget  that  they 
are  your  brethren.  They  are  very  dear  to  me,  for 
they  love  the  red  men,  and  understand  the  true 
mode  of  worshipping  me.'  " 

The  Great  Spirit  next  gave  his  hearer  various 
precepts  of  morality  and  religion,  such  as  the 
prohibition  to  marry  more  than  one  wife ;  and  a 
warning  against  the  practice  of  magic,  which  is 
worshipping  the  devil.  A  prayer,  embodying  the 
substance  of  all  that  he  had  heard,  was  then  pre- 
sented to  the  Delaware.  It  was  cut  in  hieroglyph- 
ics upon  a  wooden  stick,  after  the  custom  of  his 
people  ;  and  he  was  directed  to  send  copies  of  it  to 
all  the  Indian  villages.^ 

The  adventurer  now  departed,  and,  returning  to 
the  earth,  reported  all  the  wonders  he  had  seen  in 
the  celestial  regions. 

Such  was  the  tale  told  by  Pontiac  to  the  council ; 


1  Pontiac,  MS.  —  M'Dougal,  MSS.  M'Dougal  states  that  he  derived 
his  information  from  an  Indian.  The  author  of  the  Pontiac  MS.  probably 
writes  on  the  authority  of  Canadians,  some  of  whom  were  present  at  the 
council. 


208  THE   COUNCIL.  [1763,  April. 

and  it  is  worthy  of  notice,  that  not  he  alone,  but 
many  of  the  most  notable  men  who  have  arisen 
among  the  Indians,  have  been  opponents  of  civili- 
zation, and  stanch  advocates  of  primitive  barbarism. 
Red  Jacket  and  Tecumseh  would  gladly  have 
brought  back  their  people  to  the  rude  simplicity  of 
their  original  condition.  There  is  nothing  progres- 
sive in  the  rigid,  inflexible  nature  of  an  Indian. 
He  will  not  open  his  mind  to  the  idea  of  im- 
provement ;  and  nearly  every  change  that  has 
been  forced  upon  him  has  been  a  change  for  the 
worse. 

Many  other  speeches  were  doubtless  made  in  the 
council,  but  no  record  of  them  has  been  preserved. 
All  present  were  eager  to  attack  the  British  fort ; 
and  Pontiac  told  them,  in  conclusion,  that  on  the 
second  of  May  he  would  gain  admittance,  with  a 
party  of  his  warriors,  on  pretence  of  dancing  the 
calumet  dance  before  the  garrison  ;  that  they  would 
take  note  of  the  strength  of  the  fortification  ;  and 
that  he  would  then  summon  another  council  to 
determine  the  mode  of  attack. 

The  assembly  now  dissolved,  and  all  the  evening 
the  women  were  employed  in  loading  the  canoes, 
which  were  drawn  up  on  the  bank  of  the  stream. 
The  encampments  broke  up  at  so  early  an  hour, 
that  when  the  sun  rose,  the  savage  swarm  had 
melted  away ;  the  secluded  scene  was  restored  to 
its  wonted  silence  and  solitude,  and  nothing  re- 
mained but  the  slender  frame-work  of  several 
hundred  cabins,  with  fragments  of  broken  utensils, 
pieces  of  cloth,  and  scraps  of  hide,  scattered  over 


1763,  April.]  THE   CALUMET  DANCE.  209 

the  trampled  grass ;  while  the  smouldering  embers 
of  numberless  fires  mingled  their  dark  smoke  with 
the  white  mist  which  rose  from  the  little  river. 

Every  spring,  after  the  winter  hunt  was  over,  the 
Indians  were  accustomed  to  return  to  their  villages, 
or  permanent  encampments,  in  the  vicinity  of  De- 
troit ;  and,  accordingly,  after  the  council  had  broken 
up,  they  made  their  appearance  as  usual  about  the 
fort.  On  the  first  of  May,  Pontiac  came  to  the 
gate  with  forty  men  of  the  Ottawa  tribe,  and  asked 
permission  to  enter  and  dance  the  calumet  dance, 
before  the  officers  of  the  garrison.  After  some 
hesitation,  he  was  admitted  ;  and  proceeding  to  the 
corner  of  the  street,  where  stood  the  house  of  the 
commandant.  Major  Gladwyn,  he  and  thirty  of  his 
warriors  began  their  dance,  each  recounting  his 
own  exploits,  and  boasting  himself  the  bravest 
of  mankind.  The  officers  and  men  gathered  around 
them ;  while,  in  the  mean  time,  the  remaining  ten 
of  the  Ottawas  strolled  about  the  fort,  observing 
every  thing  it  contained.  When  the  dance  was 
over,  they  all  quietly  withdrew,  not  a  suspicion  of 
their  designs  having  arisen  in  the  minds  of  the 
English.^ 

After  a  few  days  had  elapsed,  Pontiac's  messen- 
gers again  passed  among  the  Indian  cabins,  calling 
the  principal  chiefs  to  another  council,  in  the  Pot- 
tawattamie village.  Here  there  was  a  large  struct- 
ure of  bark,  erected  for  the  public  use  on  occasions 
like  the  present.     A  hundred  chiefs  were  seated 


1  Pontiac,  MS. 
14 


210  THE   COUNCIL.  [1763,  April. 

around  this  dusky  council-house,  the  fire  in  the 
centre  shedding  its  fitful  light  upon  their  dark, 
naked  forms,  while  the  pipe  passed  from  hand  to 
hand.  To  prevent  interruption,  Pontiac  had  sta- 
tioned young  men  as  sentinels,  near  the  house.  He 
once  more  addressed  the  chiefs ;  inciting  them  to 
hostility  against  the  English,  and  concluding  by  the 
proposal  of  his  plan  for  destroying  Detroit.  It 
was  as  follows :  Pontiac  would  demand  a  council 
with  the  commandant  concerning  matters  of  great 
importance ;  and  on  this  pretext  he  flattered  him- 
self that  he  and  his  principal  chiefs  would  gain 
ready  admittance  within  the  fort.  They  were  all 
to  carry  weapons  concealed  beneath  their  blankets. 
While  in  the  act  of  addressing  the  commandant  in 
the  council-room,  Pontiac  was  to  make  a  certain 
signal,  upon  which  the  chiefs  were  to  raise  the 
war-whoop,  rush  upon  the  officers  present,  and 
strike  them  down.  The  other  Indians,  waiting 
meanwhile  at  the  gate,  or  loitering  among  the 
houses,  on  hearing  the  yells  and  firing  within  the 
building,  were  to  assail  the  astonished  and  half- 
armed  soldiers ;  and  thus  Detroit  would  fall  an 
easy  prey. 

In  opening  this  plan  of  treachery,  Pontiac 
spoke  rather  as  a  counsellor  than  as  a  commander. 
Haughty  as  he  was,  he  had  too  much  sagacity  to 
wound  the  pride  of  a  body  of  men  over  whom  he 
had  no  other  control  than  that  derived  from  his 
personal  character  and  influence.  No  one  was 
hardy  enough  to  venture  opposition  to  the  proposal 
of    their    great    leader.      His    plan   was   eagerly 


1763,  April.]  INDIAN  PREPARATION.  211 

adopted.  Hoarse  ejaculations  of  applause  echoed 
his  speech  ;  and,  gathering  their  blankets  around 
them,  the  chiefs  withdrew  to  their  respective  vil- 
lages, to  prepare  for  the  destruction  of  the  unsus- 
pecting garrison. 


CHAPTER    X. 

1763. 
DETROIT. 

To  the  credulity  of  mankind  each  great  calamity 
has  its  dire  prognostics.  Signs  and  portents  in  the 
heavens,  the  vision  of  an  Indian  bow,  and  the  fig- 
ure of  a  scalp  imprinted  on  the  disk  of  the  moon, 
warned  the  New  England  Puritans  of  impending 
war.  The  apparitions  passed  away,  and  Philip  of 
Mount  Hope  burst  from  the  forest  with  his  Narra- 
gansett  warriors.  In  October,  1762,  thick  clouds 
of  inky  blackness  gathered  above  the  fort  and 
settlement  of  Detroit.  The  river  darkened  beneath 
the  awful  shadows,  and  the  forest  was  wrapped  in 
double  gloom.  Drops  of  rain  began  to  fall,  of 
strong,  sulphurous  odor,  and  so  deeply  colored 
that  the  people,  it  is  said,  collected  them  and  used 
them  for  writing.^  A  literary  and  philosophical 
journal  of  the  time  seeks  to  explain  this  strange 
phenomenon  on  some  principle  of  physical  science  ; 
but  the  simple  Canadians  held  a  different  faith. 
Throughout  the  winter,  the  shower  of  black  rain 
was  the  foremost  topic  of  their  fireside  talk ;   and 

1  Carver,  Travels,  153.     Gent.  Mag.  XXXIV.  408. 


1768,  May.]  THE  FORT.  213 

forebodings  of  impending  evil  distuu'bed  the  breast 
of  many  a  timorous  matron. 

La  Motte-Cadillac  was  the  founder  of  Detroit.  In 
the  year  1701,  he  planted  the  little  military  colony, 
which  time  has  transformed  into  a  thriving  American 
city.^  At  an  earlier  date,  some  feeble  efforts  had 
been  made  to  secure  the  possession  of  this  impor- 
tant pass  ;  and  when  La  Hontan  visited  the  lakes, 
a  small  post,  called  Fort  St.  Joseph,  was  standing 
near  the  present  site  of  Fort  Gratiot.  The  wan- 
dering Jesuits,  too,  made  frequent  sojourns  upon 
the  borders  of  the  Detroit,  and  baptized  the  savage 
children  whom  they  found  there. 

Fort  St.  Joseph  was  abandoned  in  the  year  1688. 
The  establishment  of  Cadillac  was  destined  to  a 
better  fate,  and  soon  rose  to  distinguished  impor- 
tance among  the  western  outposts  of  Canada. 
Indeed,  the  site  was  formed  by  nature  for  pros- 
perity ;  and  a  bad  government  and  a  thriftless 
people  could  not  prevent  the  increase  of  the 
colony.  At  the  close  of  the  French  war,  as  Major 
Rogers  tells  us,  the  place  contained  twenty-five 
hundred  inhabitants.^  The  centre  of  the  settle- 
ment was  the  fortified  town,  currently  called  the 
Fort,  to  distinguish  it  from  the  straggling  dwellings 
along  the  river  banks.  It  stood  on  the  western 
margin  of  the  river,  covering  a  small  part  of  the 
ground  now  occupied  by  the  city  of  Detroit,  and 
contained  about  a  hundred  houses,  compactly- 
pressed  together,   and   surrounded   by   a  palisade. 

1  Memorial  of  La  Motte  Cadillac.     See  Schoolcraft,  Oneota,   407. 

2  A  high  estimate.     Compare  Rameau,  Colonie  du  Detroit,  28. 


214  DETROIT.  [1763,  Mat. 

Both  above  and  below  the  fort,  the  banks  of  the 
stream  were  lined  on  both  sides  with  small  Cana- 
dian dwellings,  extending  at  various  intervals  for 
nearly  eight  miles.  Each  had  its  garden  and  its 
orchard,  and  each  was  enclosed  by  a  fence  of 
rounded  pickets.  To  the  soldier  or  the  trader, 
fresh  from  the  harsh  scenery  and  ambushed  perils 
of  the  surrounding  wilds,  the  secluded  settlement 
was  welcome  as  an  oasis  in  the  desert. 

The  Canadian  is  usually  a  happy  man.  Life 
sits  lightly  upon  him ;  he  laughs  at  its  hardships, 
and  soon  forgets  its  sorrows.  A  lover  of  roving 
and  adventure,  of  the  frolic  and  the  dance,  he  is 
little  troubled  with  thoughts  of  the  past  or  the 
future,  and  little  plagued  with  avarice  or  ambition. 
At  Detroit,  all  his  propensities  found  ample  scope. 
Aloof  from  the  world,  the  simple  colonists  shared 
none  of  its  pleasures  and  excitements,  and  were 
free  from  many  of  its  cares.  Nor  were  luxuries 
wanting  which  civilization  might  have  envied  them. 
The  forests  teemed  with  game,  the  marshes  with 
wild  fowl,  and  the  rivers  with  fish.  The  apples 
and  pears  of  the  old  Canadian  orchards  are  even  to 
this  day  held  in  esteem.  The  poorer  inhabitants 
made  wine  from  the  fruit  of  the  wild  grape,  which 
grew  profusely  in  the  woods,  while  the  wealthier 
class  procured  a  better  quality  from  Montreal,  in 
exchange  for  the  canoe  loads  of  furs  which  they 
sent  down  with  every  year.  Here,  as  elsewhere  in 
Canada,  the  long  winter  was  a  season  of  social 
enjoyment ;  and  when,  in  summer  and  autumn,  the 
traders  and  voyageurs,  the   coureurs  de  hois,  and 


1763,  Mat.]  ITS  OCCUPANTS.  215 

half-breeds,  gathered  from  the  distant  forests  of 
the  north-west,  the  whole  settlement  was  alive 
with  dancing  and  feasting,  drinking,  gaming,  and 
carousing. 

Within  the  limits  of  the  settlement  were  three 
large  Indian  villages.  On  the  western  shore,  a 
little  below  the  fort,  were  the  lodges  of  the  Potta- 
wattamies  ;  nearly  opposite,  on  the  eastern  side, 
was  the  village  of  the  Wyandots ;  and  on  the 
same  side,  five  miles  higher  up,  Pontiac's  band  of 
Ottawas  had  fixed  their  abode.  The  settlers  had 
always  maintained  the  best  terms  with  their  savage 
neighbors.  In  truth,  there  was  much  congeniality 
between  the  red  man  and  the  Canadian.  Their 
harmony  was  seldom  broken ;  and  among  the 
woods  and  wilds  of  the  northern  lakes  roamed 
many  a  lawless  half-breed,  the  mongrel  offspring  of 
the  colonists  of  Detroit  and  the  Indian  squaws. 

We  have  already  seen  how,  in  an  evil  hour  for 
the  Canadians,  a  party  of  British  troops  took  pos- 
session of  Detroit,  towards  the  close  of  the  year 
1760.  The  British  garrison,  consisting  partly  of 
regulars  and  partly  of  provincial  rangers,  was  now 
quartered  in  a  well-built  range  of  barracks  within 
the  town  or  fort.  The  latter,  as  already  mentioned, 
contained  about  a  hundred  small  houses.  Its  form 
was  nearly  square,  and  the  palisade  which  sur- 
rounded it  was  about  twenty-five  feet  high.  At 
each  corner  was  a  wooden  bastion,  and  a  block- 
house was  erected  over  each  gateway.  The  houses 
weve  small,  chiefly  built  of  wood,  and  roofed  with 
bark   or   a    thatch    of   straw.      The    streets    also 


216  DETROIT.  [1763,  Mat. 

were  extremely  narrow,  though  a  wide  passage 
way,  known  as  the  chemin  die  ronde,  surrounded 
the  town,  between  the  houses  and  the  palisade. 
Besides  the  barracks,  the  only  public  buildings 
were  a  council-house  and  a  rude  little  church. 

The  garrison  consisted  of  a  hundred  and  twenty 
soldiers,  with  about  forty  fur- traders  and  engages  ; 
but  the  latter,  as  well  as  the  Canadian  inhabitants 
of  the  place,  could  little  be  trusted,  in  the  event  of 
an  Indian  outbreak.  Two  small,  armed  schooners, 
the  Beaver  and  the  Gladwyn,  lay  anchored  in  the 
stream,  and  several  light  pieces  of  artillery  were 
mounted  on  the  bastions. 

Such  was  Detroit,  —  a  place  whose  defences 
could  have  opposed  no  resistance  to  a  civilized 
enemy;  and  yet,  far  removed  as  it  was  from  the 
hope  of  speedy  succor,  it  could  only  rely,  in  the 
terrible  struggles  that  awaited  it,  upon  its  own 
slight  strength  and  feeble  resources.^ 

Standing  on  the  water  bastion  of  Detroit,  a 
pleasant  landscape  spread  before  the  eye.  The 
river,  about  half  a  mile  wide,  almost  washed  the 
foot  of  the  stockade  ;  and  either  bank  was  lined 
with  the  white  Canadian  cottages.  The  joyous 
sparkling    of  the    bright    blue   water ;    the   green 

1  Croghan,  Journal.  Rogers,  Account  of  North  America,  168.  Various 
MS.  Journals,  Letters,  and  Plans  have  also  been  consulted.  The  most 
remarkable  of  these  is  the  Plan  Topographique  du  Detroit,  made  by  or  for 
General  Collot,  in  1796.  It  is  accompanied  by  a  drawing  in  water-colors 
of  the  town  as  it  appeared  in  that  year.  A  fac-simile  of  this  drawing  is 
in  my  possession.  The  regular  fortification,  which,  within  the  recollec- 
tion of  many  now  living,  covered  the  ground  in  the  rear  of  the  old  town 
of  Detroit,  was  erected  at  a  date  subsequent  to  the  period  of  this  his- 
tory. 


1763,  Mat.]  AMBITION  OF  PONTIAC.  217 

luxuriance  of  the  Avoods ;  the  white  dwellings, 
looking  out  from  the  foliage  ;  and,  in  the  distance, 
the  Indian  wigwams  curling  their  smoke  against 
the  sky,  —  all  were  mingled  in  one  broad  scene  of 
wild  and  rural  beauty. 

Pontiac,  the  Satan  of  this  forest  paradise,  was 
accustomed  to  spend  the  early  part  of  the  summer 
upon  a  small  island  at  the  opening  of  the  Lake  St. 
Clair,  hidden  from  view  by  the  high  woods  that 
covered  the  intervening  Isle  au  Cochon.^  "  The 
king  and  lord  of  all  this  country,"  as  Rogers  calls 
him,  lived  in  no  royal  state.  His  cabin  was  a 
small,  oven-shaped  structure  of  bark  and  rushes. 
Here  he  dwelt,  with  his  squaws  and  children ;  and 
here,  doubtless,  he  might  often  have  been  seen, 
lounging,  half-naked,  on  a  rush  mat,  or  a  bear- 
skin, like  any  ordinary  warrior.  We  may  fancy 
the  current  of  his  thoughts,  the  turmoil  of  his 
uncurbed  passions,  as  he  revolved  the  treacheries 
w^hich,  to  his  savage  mind,  seemed  fair  and  honor- 
able. At  one  moment,  his  fierce  heart  would  burn 
with  the  anticipation  of  vengeance  on  the  detested 
English ;  at  another,  he  would  meditate  how  he 
best  might  turn  the  approaching  tumults  to  the 
furtherance  of  his  own  ambitious  schemes.  Yet 
we  may  believe  that  Pontiac  was  not  a  stranger  to 
the  high  emotion  of  the  patriot  hero,  the  champion 
not  merely  of  his  nation's  rights,  but  of  the  very 
existence  of  his  race.  He  did  not  dream  how 
desperate    a   game    he   was    about   to    play.      He 

1  Tradition,  communicated  to  H.  R.  Schoolcraft,  Esq.,  hy  Henry  Con- 
ner, formerly  Indian  interpreter  at  Detroit. 


218  DETROIT.  [1763,  Mat. 

hourly  flattered  himself  with  the  futile  hope  of 
aid  from  France,  and  thought  in  his  ignorance  that 
the  British  colonies  must  give  way  before  the  rush 
of  his  savage  warriors ;  when,  in  truth,  all  the 
combined  tribes  of  the  forest  might  have  chafed  in 
vain  rage  against  the  rock-hke  strength  of  the 
Anglo-Saxon. 

Looking  across  an  intervening  arm  of  the  river, 
Pontiac  could  see  on  its  eastern  bank  the  numerous 
lodges  of  his  Ottawa  tribesmen,  half  hidden  among 
the  ragged  growth  of  trees  and  bushes.  On  the 
afternoon  of  the  fifth  of  May,  a  Canadian  woman, 
the  wife  of  St.  Aubin,  one  of  the  principal  settlers, 
crossed  over  from  the  western  side,  and  visited  the 
Ottawa  village,  to  obtain  from  the  Indians  a  supply 
of  maple  sugar  and  venison.  She  was  surprised  at 
finding  several  of  the  warriors  engaged  in  filing 
off  the  muzzles  of  their  guns,  so  as  to  reduce  them, 
stock  and  all,  to  the  length  of  about  a  yard.  Re- 
turning home  in  the  evening,  she  mentioned  what 
she  had  seen  to  several  of  her  neighbors.  Upon 
this,  one  of  them,  the  blacksmith  of  the  village, 
remarked  that  many  of  the  Indians  had  lately 
visited  his  shop,  and  attempted  to  borrow  files 
and  saws  for  a  purpose  which  they  would  not 
explain.^  These  circumstances  excited  the  suspi- 
cion of  the  experienced  Canadians.  Doubtless 
there  were  many  in  the  settlement  who  might,  had 
they  chosen,  have  revealed  the  plot ;  but  it  is  no 
less  certain  that  the  more  numerous  and  respectable 

1  St.  Aubin' s  Account,  MS.     See  Appendix,  C. 


1763,  Mat.]  THE  PLOT   REVEALED.  219 

class  in  the  little  community  had  too  deep  an  inter- 
est in  the  preservation  of  peace,  to  countenance 
the  designs  of  Pontiac.  M.  Gouin,  an  old  and 
wealthy  settler,  went  to  the  commandant,  and  con- 
jured him  to  stand  upon  his  guard ;  but  Gladwyn, 
a  man  of  fearless  temper,  gave  no  heed  to  the 
friendly  advice.^ 

In  the  Pottawattamie  village,  if  there  be  truth  in 
tradition,  lived  an  Ojibwa  girl,  who  could  boast  a 
larger  share  of  beauty  than  is  common  in  the  wig- 
wam. She  had  attracted  the  eye  of  Gladwyn.  He 
had  formed  a  connection  with  her,  and  she  had  be- 
come much  attached  to  him.  On  the  afternoon  of 
the  sixth,  Catharine  —  for  so  the  officers  called  her 
—  came  to  the  fort,  and  repaired  to  Gladwyn's  quar- 
ters, bringing  with  her  a  pair  of  elk-skin  moccasons, 
ornamented  with  porcupine  work,  which  he  had 
requested  her  to  make.  There  was  something 
unusual  in  her  look  and  manner.  Her  face  was 
sad  and  downcast.  She  said  little,  and  soon  left 
the  room ;  but  the  sentinel  at  the  door  saw  her  still 
lingering  at  the  street  corner,  though  the  hour  for 
closing  the  gates  was  nearly  come.  At  length  she 
attracted  the  notice  of  Gladwyn  himself;  and 
calling  her  to  him,  he  pressed  her  to  declare  what 
was  weighing  upon  her  mind.  Still  she  remained 
for  a  long  time  silent,  and  it  was  only  after  much 
urgency  and  many  promises  not  to  betray  her,  that 
she  revealed  her  momentous  secret. 

To-morrow,  she  said,  Pontiac  will  come  to  the 
fort  with  sixty  of  his  chiefs.     Each  will  be  armed 

1  Gouin's  Account,  MS. 


220  DETROIT.  [1763,  May. 

with  a  gun,  cut  short,  and  hidden  under  his  blanket. 
Pontiac  will  demand  to  hold  a  council ;  and  after 
he  has  delivered  his  speech,  he  will  offer  a  peace- 
belt  of  wampum,  holding  it  in  a  reversed  position. 
This  will  be  the  signal  of  attack.  The  chiefs  will 
spring  up  and  fire  upon  the  officers,  and  the  Indians 
in  the  street  will  fall  upon  the  garrison.  Every 
Englishman  will  be  killed,  but  not  the  scalp  of  a 
single  Frenchman  will  be  touched.^ 


1  Letter  to  the  writer  from  H.  R.  Schoolcraft,  Esq.,  containing  the 
traditional  account  from  the  lips  of  the  interpreter,  Henry  Conner.  See, 
also.  Carver,  Travels,  155  (Lond.  1778). 

Carver's  account  of  the  conspiracy  and  the  siege  is  in  several  points 
inexact,  which  throws  a  shade  of  doubt  on  this  story.  Tradition,  how- 
ever, as  related  by  the  interpreter  Conner,  sustains  liim  ;  with  the  addi- 
tion that  Catharine  was  the  mistress  of  Gladwyn,  and  a  few  other  points, 
including  a  very  uiiromantic  end  of  the  heroine,  who  is  said  to  liave  per- 
ished, by  falling,  when  drunk,  into  a  kettle  of  boiling  maple-sap.  This 
was  many  years  after  (see  Appendix).  Maxwell  agrees  in  the  main 
with  Carver.  There  is  another  tradition,  that  the  plot  was  disclosed  by 
an  old  squaw.  A  third,  current  among  the  Ottawas,  and  sent  to  me  in 
1858  by  Mr.  Hosmer,  of  Toledo,  declares  that  a  young  squaw  told  the  plot 
to  the  commanding  ofl&cer,  but  that  he  would  not  believe  her,  as  she  had  a 
bad  name,  being  a  "  straggler  among  the  private  soldiers."  An  Indian 
chief,  pursues  the  same  story,  afterwards  warned  the  officer.  The  Pontiac 
MS  says  that  Gladwyn  was  warned  by  an  Ottawa  warrior,  though  a 
woman  was  suspected  by  the  Indians  of  having  betrayed  the  secret.  Pel- 
tier says  that  a  woman  named  Catharine  was  actnised  of  revealing  the 
plot,  and  severely  flogged  by  Pontiac  in  consequence.  There  is  another 
story,  that  a  soldier  named  Tucker,  adopted  by  the  Indians,  was  warned 
by  his  Indian  sister.  But  the  most  distinct  and  satisfactory  evidence  is 
the  following,  from  a  letter  written  at  Detroit  on  the  twelfth  of  July,  1763, 
and  signed  James  Macdonald.  It  is  among  the  Haldimand  Papers  in  the 
British  Museum.  There  is  also  an  imperfect  copy,  found  among  the 
papers  of  Colonel  John  Brodhead,  in  the  library  of  the  Historical  Society 
of  Pennsylvania:  "About  six  o'clock  that  afternoon  [May  7],  six  of 
their  warriors  returned  and  brought  an  old  squaw  prisoner,  alleging  that 
she  had  given  us  false  information  against  them.  The  major  declared 
she  had  never  given  us  any  kind  of  advice.  They  then  insisted  on 
naming  the  author  of  what  he  had  heard  with  regard  to  the  Indians, 
which  he  declined  to  do,  but  told  them  that  it  was  one  of  themselves, 


1763,  Mat.]  A  NIGHT   OF  ANXIETY.  221 

Such  is  the  story  told  in  1768  to  the  traveller 
Carver  at  Detroit,  and  presei*ved  in  local  tradition, 
but  not  sustained  by  contempoi-ary  letters  or  diaries. 
What  is  certain  is,  that  Gladwyn  received  secret 
information,  on  the  night  of  the  sixth  of  May,  that 
an  attempt  would  be  made  on  the  morrow  to  cap- 
ture the  fort  by  treachery.  He  called  some  of  his 
officers,  and  told  them  what  he  had  heard.  The 
defences  of  the  place  were  feeble  and  extensive, 
and  the  garrison  by  far  too  weak  to  repel  a  general 
assault.  The  force  of  the  Indians  at  this  time  is 
variously  estimated  at  from  six  hundred  to  two 
thousand  ;  and  the  commandant  greatly  feared  that 
some  wild  impulse  might  precipitate  their  plan, 
and  that  they  would  storm  the  fort  before  the  morn- 
ing. Every  preparation  was  made  to  meet  the 
sudden  emergency.  Half  the  garrison  were  ordered 
under  arms,  and  all  the  officers  prepared  to  spend 
the  night  upon  the  ramparts. 

The  day  closed,  and  the  hues  of  sunset  faded. 
Only  a  dusky  redness  lingered  in  the  west,  and 
the  darkening  earth  seemed  her  dull  self  again. 
Then  night  descended,  heavy  and  black,  on  the 

whose  name  he  promised  never  to  reveal ;  whereupon  they  went  off,  and 
carried  the  old  woman  prisoner  with  them.  When  they  arrived  at  their 
camp,  Pontiac,  their  greatest  chief,  seized  on  the  prisoner,  and  gave  her 
three  strokes  with  a  stick  on  the  head,  which  laid  her  flat  on  the  ground, 
and  the  whole  nation  assembled  round  her,  and  called  repeated  times, 
'Kill  her!  kill  her  !' " 

Thus  it  is  clear  that  the  story  told  by  Carver  must  be  taken  with 
many  grains  of  allowance.  The  greater  part  of  the  evidence  given  above 
has  been  gathered  since  the  first  edition  of  this  book  was  published.  It 
has  been  thought  best  to  retain  the  original  passage,  with  the  necessary 
qualifications.  The  story  is  not  without  interest,  and  those  may  believe 
it  who  win. 


I 

222  DETROIT.  [1763,  Mat. 

fierce  Indians  and  the  sleepless  English.  From 
sunset  till  dawn,  an  anxious  watch  was  kept  from 
the  slender  palisades  of  Detroit.  The  soldiers  were 
still  ignorant  of  the  danger  ;  and  the  sentinels  did 
not  know  why  their  numbers  were  doubled,  or 
why,  with  such  unwonted  vigilance,  their  officers 
repeatedly  visited  their  posts.  A^ain  and  again 
Gladwyn  mounted  his  wooden  ramparts,  and  looked 
forth  into  the  gloom.  There  seemed  nothing  but 
repose  and  peace  in  the  soft,  moist  air  of  the  warm 
spring  evening,  with  the  piping  of  frogs  along  the 
river  bank,  just  roused  from  their  torpor  by  the 
genial  influence  of  May.  But,  at  intervals,  as  the 
night  wind  swept  across  the  bastion,  it  bore  sounds 
of  fearful  portent  to  the  ear,  the  sullen  booming 
of  the  Indian  drum  and  the  wild  chorus  of  quaver- 
ing yells,  as  the  warriors,  around  their  distant 
camp-fires,  danced  the  war-dance,  in  preparation 
for  the  morrow's   work.^ 

1  Maxwell's  Account,  MS.     See  Appendix,  C. 


CHAPTEE    XI. 

1763. 

TREACHERY  OF  PONTIAC. 

The  mght  passed  without  alarm.  The  sun  rose 
upon  fresh  fields  and  newly  budding  woods,  and 
scarcely  had  the  morning  mists  dissolved,  when  the 
garrison  could  see  a  fleet  of  birch  canoes  crossing 
the  river  from  the  eastern  shore,  within  range  of 
cannon  shot  above  the  fort.  Only  two  or  three 
warriors  appeared  in  each,  but  all  moved  slowly, 
and  seemed  deeply  laden.  In  truth,  they  were  full 
of  savages,  lying  flat  on  their  faces,  that  then*  num- 
bers might  not  excite  the  suspicion  of  the  English.^ 

At  an  early  hour  the  open  common  behind  the 
fort  was  throDged  with  squaws,  children,  and  war- 
riors, some  naked,  and  others  fantastically  arrayed 
in  their  barbarous  finery.  All  seemed  restless  and 
uneasy,  moving  hither  and  thither,  in  apparent 
preparation  for  a  general  game  of  baU.  Many  tall 
warriors,  wrapped  in  their  blankets,  were  seen 
stalking  towards  the  fort,  and  casting  mahgnant 
furtive  glances  upward   at  the  paHsades.     Then, 

1  Mdocke's  Account,  MS. 


224  TREACHERY   OF  PONTIAC.  [1763,  May. 

with  an  air  of  assumed  indifference,  they  would 
move  towards  the  gate.  They  were  all  admitted ; 
for  Gladwyn,  who,  in  this  instance  at  least,  showed 
some  knowledge  of  Indian  character,  chose  to  con- 
vince his  crafty  foe  that,  though  their  plot  was 
detected,  their  hostility  was  despised.^ 

The  whole  garrison  was  ordered  under  arms. 
Sterling,  and  the  other  English  fur-traders,  closed 
their  storehouses  and  armed  their  men,  and  all  in 
cool  confidence  stood  waiting  the  result. 

Meanwhile,  Pontiac,  who  had  crossed  with  the 
canoes  from  the  eastern  shore,  was  approaching 
along  the  river  road,  at  the  head  of  his  sixty  chiefs, 
all  gravely  marching  in  Indian  file.  A  Canadian  set- 
tler, named  Beaufait,  had  been  that  moraing  to  the 
fort.  He  was  now  returning  homewards,  and  as  he 
reached  the  bridge  which  led  over  the  stream  then 
called  Parent's  Creek,  he  saw  the  chiefs  in  the  act 
of  crossing  from  the  farther  bank.  He  stood  aside 
to  give  them  room.  As  the  last  Indian  passed, 
Beaufait  recognized  him  as  an  old  friend  and 
associate.  The  savage  greeted  him  with  the  usual 
ejaculation,  opened  for  an  instant  the  folds  of  his 
blanket,  disclosed  the  hidden  gun,  and,  with  an 
emphatic  gesture  towards  the  fort,  indicated  the 
purpose  to  which  he  meant  to  apply  it.^ 

At  ten  o'clock,  the  great  war-chief,  with  his 
treacherous  followers,  reached  the  fort,  and  the 
gateway   was   thronged  with   their   savage   faces. 

1  Penn.  Gaz.  No.  1808. 

2  This  incident  was  related,  by  the  son  of  Beaufait,  to  General  Cass. 
See  Cass,  Discourse  before  the  Michigan  Historical  Society,  30. 


1763,  Mat.]  THE  PLOT  DEFEATED.  225 

All  were  wrapped  to  the  throat  in  colored  blankets. 
Some  were  crested  with  hawk,  eagle,  or  raven 
plumes ;  others  had  shaved  their  heads,  leaving 
only  the  fluttering  scalp-lock  on  the  crown  ;  while 
others,  again,  wore  their  long,  black  hair  flowing 
loosely  at  their  backs,  or  wildly  hanging  about 
their  brows  like  a  lion's  mane.  Their  bold  yet 
crafty  features,  their  cheeks  besmeared  with  ochre 
and  vermilion,  white  lead  and  soot,  their  keen, 
deep-set  eyes  gleaming  in  their  sockets,  like  those 
of  rattlesnakes,  gave  them  an  aspect  grim,  uncouth, 
and  horrible.  For  the  most  part,  they  were  tall, 
strong  men,  and  all  had  a  gait  and  bearing  of 
peculiar   stateliness. 

As  Pontiac  entered,  it  is  said  that  he  started, 
and  that  a  deep  ejaculation  half  escaped  from  his 
breast.  Well  might  his  stoicism  fail,  for  at  a 
glance  he  read  the  ruin  of  his  plot.  On  either 
hand,  within  the  gateway,  stood  ranks  of  soldiers 
and  hedges  of  glittering  steel.  The  swarthy  enga- 
ges of  the  fur- traders,  armed  to  the  teeth,  stood  in 
groups  at  the  street  corners,  and  the  measured  tap 
of  a  drum  fell  ominously  on  the  ear.  Soon  regain- 
ing his  composure,  Pontiac  strode  forward  into  the 
narrow  street ;  and  his  chiefs  filed  after  him  in 
silence,  while  the  scared  faces  of  women  and 
children  looked  out  from  the  windows  as  they 
passed.  Their  rigid  muscles  betrayed  no  sign  of 
emotion ;  yet,  looking  closely,  one  might  have  seen 
their  small  eyes  glance  from  side  to  side  with  rest- 
less scrutiny. 

Traversing  the   entire  width  of  the  little  town, 

15 


226  TREACHERY   OF  PONTIAC.  [1763,  May. 

they  reached  the  door  of  the  council-house,  a  large 
building  standing  near  the  margin  of  the  river. 
On  entering,  they  saw  Gladwyn,  with  several  of 
his  officers,  seated  in  readiness  to  receive  them,  and 
the  observant  chiefs  did  not  fail  to  remark  that 
every  Englishman  wore  a  sword  at  his  side,  and  a 
pair  of  pistols  in  his  belt.  The  conspirators  eyed 
each  other  with  uneasy  glances.  "  Why,"  demanded 
Pontiac,  "  do  I  see  so  many  of  my  father's  young 
men  standing  in  the  street  with  their  guns  1 " 
Gladwyn  replied  through  his  interpreter,  La  Butte, 
that  he  had  ordered  the  soldiers  under  arms  for 
the  sake  of  exercise  and  discipline.  With  much 
delay  and  many  signs  of  distrust,  the  chiefs  at 
length  sat  down  on  the  mats  prepared  for  them  ; 
and,  after  the  customary  pause,  Pontiac  rose  to 
speak.  Holding  in  his  hand  the  wampum  belt 
which  was  to  have  given  the  fatal  signal,  he  ad- 
dressed the  commandant,  professing  strong  attach- 
ment to  the  English,  and  declaring,  in  Indian  phrase, 
that  he  had  come  to  smoke  the  pipe  of  peace, 
and  brighten  the  chain  of  friendship.  The  officers 
watched  him  keenly  as  he  uttered  these  hollow 
words,  fearing  lest,  though  conscious  that  his 
designs  were  suspected,  he  might  still  attempt  to 
accomplish  them.  And  once,  it  is  said,  he  raised 
the  wampum  belt  as  if  about  to  give  the  signal 
of  attack.  But  at  that  instant  Gladwyn  signed 
slightly  with  his  hand.  The  sudden  clash  of  arms 
sounded  from  the  passage  without,  and  a  drum 
rolling  the  charge  ffiled  the  council-room  with  its 
stunning  din.     At  this,  Pontiac  stood  like  one  con- 


1763,  Mat.]  THE   PLOT   DEFEATED.  227 

founded.  Some  writers  will  have  it,  that  Gladwyn, 
rising  from  his  seat,  drew  the  chiefs  blanket  aside, 
exposed  the  hidden  gun,  and  sternly  rebuked  him 
for  his  treachery.  But  the  commandant  wished 
only  to  prevent  the  consummation  of  the  plot, 
without  bringing  on  an  open  rupture.  His  own 
letters  affirm  that  he  and  his  officers  remained 
seated  as  before.  Pontiac,  seeing  his  unruffled 
brow  and  his  calm  eye  fixed  steadfastly  upon  him, 
knew  not  what  to  think,  and  soon  sat  down  in 
amazement  and  perplexity.  Another  pause  ensued, 
and  Gladwyn  commenced  a  brief  reply.  He  assured 
the  chiefs  that  friendship  and  protection  should  be 
extended  towards  them  as  long  as  they  continued 
to  deserve  it,  but  threatened  ample  vengeance 
for  the  first  act  of  aggression.  The  council  then 
broke  up  ;  but,  before  leaving  the  room,  Pontiac  told 
the  officers  that  he  would  return  in  a  few  days, 
with  his  squaws  and  children,  for  he  wished  that 
they  should  all  shake  hands  with  their  fathers  the 
English.  To  this  new  piece  of  treachery  Gladwyn 
deigned  no  reply.  The  gates  of  the  fort,  which 
had  been  closed  during  the  conference,  were  again 
flung  open,  and  the  baffled  savages  were  suff'ered 
to  depart,  rejoiced,  no  doubt,  to  breathe  once  more 
the  free  air  of  the  open  fields.^ 

1  Carver,  Travels,  159  (London,  1778).  M'Kenney,  Tour  to  the  Lakes, 
130.  Cass,  Discourse,  32.  Penn.  Gaz.  Nos.  1807,  1808.  Pontiac  MS. 
M'Dougal,  MSS.  Gouin's  Account,  MS.  Meloche's  Account,  MS.  St. 
Aubin's  Account,  MS. 

Extract  from  a  MS.  Letter —  Major  Gladwyn  to  Sir  J.  Amherst : 

"  Detroit,  May  14, 1763. 

"Sir: 

"  On  the  First  Instant,  Pontiac,  the  Chief  of  the  Ottawa  Nation,  came 
here  with  about  Fifty  of  his  Men  (forty,  Pontiac  MS.),  and  told  me  that  in 


228  TREACHERY   OF  PONTIAC.  [1763,  Mat. 

Gladwyn  has  been  censured,  and  perhaps  with 
justice,  for  not  detaining  the  chiefs  as  hostages  for 
the  good  conduct  of  their  followers.  An  entrapped 
wolf  meets  no  quarter  from  the  huntsman ;  and  a 
savage,  caught  in  his  treachery,  has  no  claim  to 
forbearance.  Perhaps  the  commandant  feared 
lest,  should  he  arrest  the  chiefs  when  gathered  at 
a  public  council,  and  guiltless  as  yet  of  open  vio- 
lence, the  act  might  be  interpreted  as  cowardly 
and  dishonorable.  He  was  ignorant,  moreover,  of 
the  true  nature  of  the  plot.  In  his  view,  the 
whole  affair  was  one  of  those  impulsive  outbreaks 
so  common  among  Indians  ;  and  he  trusted  that, 
could  an  immediate  rupture  be  averted,  the  threat- 
ening clouds  would  soon  blow  over. 

Here,  and  elsewhere,  the  conduct  of  Pontiac  is 
marked  with  the  blackest  treachery ;  and  one  cannot 
but  lament  that  a  commanding  and  magnanimous 
nature  should  be  stained  with  the  odious  vice  of 
cowards  and  traitors.  He  could  govern,  with 
almost  despotic  sway,  a  race  unruly  as  the  winds. 
In  generous  thought  and  deed,  he  rivalled  the 
heroes  of   ancient  story;   and  craft  and   cunning 


a  few  days,  when  the  rest  of  his  Nation  came  in,  he  Intended  to  Pay  me  a 
Formal  Visit.  The  7th  he  came,  but  I  was  luckily  Informed,  the  Night 
before,  that  he  was  coming  with  an  Intention  to  Surprize  Us  ;  Upon 
which  I  took  such  Precautions  that  when  they  Entered  the  Fort,  (tho' 
they  were,  by  the  best  Accounts,  about  Three  Hundred,  and  Armed  with 
Knives,  Tomy hawks,  and  a  great  many  with  Guns  cut  short,  and  hid 
under  their  Blankets),  they  were  so  much  surprized  to  see  our  Dispo- 
sition, that  they  would  scarcely  sit  down  to  Council :  However  in  about 
Half  an  hour,  after  they  saw  their  Designs  were  Discovered,  they  sat 
Down,  and  Pontiac  made  a  speech  which  I  Answered  calmly,  without 
Intimating  my  suspicion  of  their  Intentions,  and  after  receiving  some 
Trifling  Presents,  they  went  away  to  their  Camp." 


1763,  May.]  THE   INDIAN  AND   EUROPEAN.  229 

might  well  seem  alien  to  a  mind  like  his.  Yet 
Pontiac  was  a  thorough  savage,  and  in  him  stand 
forth,  in  sti'ongest  light  and  shadow,  the  native 
faults  and  virtues  of  the  Indian  race.  All  children, 
says  Sii'  Walter  Scott,  are  naturally  liars ;  and 
truth  and  honor  are  developments  of  later  educa- 
tion. Barbarism  is  to  civilization  what  childhood 
is  to  maturity ;  and  all  savages,  whatever  may  be 
their  country,  their  color,  or  their  lineage,  are 
prone  to  treachery  and  deceit.  The  barbarous 
ancestors  of  our  own  frank  and  manly  race  are  no 
less  obnoxious  to  the  charge  than  those  of  the  cat- 
like Bengalee  ;  for  in  this  childhood  of  society 
brave  men  and  cowards  are  treacherous  alike. 

The  Indian  differs  widely  from  the  European  in 
his  notion  of  military  virtue.  In  his  view,  artifice 
is  wisdom  ;  and  he  honors  the  skill  that  can  circum- 
vent, no  less  than  the  valor  that  can  subdue,  an 
adversary.  The  object  of  war,  he  argues,  is  to 
destroy  the  enemy.  To  accomplish  this  end,  all 
means  are  honorable  ;  and  it  is  folly,  not  bravery, 
to  incur  a  needless  risk.  Had  Pontiac  ordered  his 
followers  to  storm  the  palisades  of  Detroit,  not  one 
of  them  would  have  obeyed  him.  They  might, 
indeed,  after  their  strange  superstition,  have  rever- 
enced him  as  a  madman ;  but,  from  that  hour,  his 
fame  as  a  war-chief  would  have  sunk  forever. 

Balked  in  his  treachery,  the  great  chief  with- 
drew to  his  village,  enraged  and  mortified,  yet  still 
resolved  to  persevere.  That  Gladwyn  had  sufi'ered 
him  to  escape,  was  to  his  mind  an  ample  proof 
either  of  cowardice  or  ignorance.     The  latter  sup- 


230  TREACHERY  OF  PONTIAC.  [1763,  Mat. 

position  seemed  the  more  probable  ;  and  be  resolved 
to  visit  tbe  English  once  more,  and  convince  them, 
if  possible,  that  their  suspicions  against  him  were 
unfounded.  Early  on  the  following  morning,  he 
repaired  to  the  fort  with  three  of  his  chiefs,  bearing 
in  his  hand  the  sacred  calumet,  or  pipe  of  peace,  its 
bowl  carved  in  stone,  and  its  stem  adorned  mth  feath- 
ers. Offering  it  to  the  commandant,  he  addi'essed 
him  and  his  officers  to  the  following  effect :  "  My 
fathers,  evil  birds  have  sung  lies  in  your  ear.  We 
that  stand  before  you  are  friends  of  the  English. 
We  love  them  as  our  brothers  ;  and,  to  prove  our 
love,  we  have  come  this  day  to  smoke  the  pipe  of 
peace."  At  his  departure,  he  gave  the  pipe  to 
Captain  Campbell,  second  in  command,  as  a  farther 
pledge  of  his  sincerity. 

That  afternoon,  the  better  to  cover  his  designs, 
Pontiac  called  the  young  men  of  all  the  tribes 
to  a  game  of  ball,  which  took  place,  with  great 
noise  and  shouting,  on  the  neighboring  fields.  At 
nightfall,  the  garrison  were  startled  by  a  burst  of 
loud,  shrill  yells.  The  drums  beat  to  arms,  and 
the  troops  were  ordered  to  their  posts  ;  but  the 
alarm  was  caused  only  by  the  victors  in  the  ball 
play,  who  were  announcing  their  success  by  these 
discordant  outcries.  Meanwhile,  Pontiac  was  in 
the  Pottawattamie  village,  consulting  with  the 
chiefs  of  that  tribe,  and  with  the  Wyandots,  by 
what  means  they  might  compass  the  ruin  of  the 
English.^ 

Early  on  the  following   morning,    Monday,  the 

1  Pontiac  MS. 


1763,  May.]    PONTIAC  THROWS   OFF  THE  MASK.  231 

ninth  of  May,  the  French  inhabitants  went  in  pro- 
cession to  the  principal  church  of  the  settlement, 
which  stood  near  the  river  bank,  about  half  a  mile 
above  the  fort.  Having  heard  mass,  they  all 
returned  before  eleven  o'clock,  without  discovering 
any  signs  that  the  Indians  meditated  an  immediate 
act  of  hostility.  Scarcely,  however,  had  they  done 
so,  when  the  common  behind  the  fort  was  once 
more  tlii*onged  with  Indians  of  all  the  four  tribes  ; 
and  Pontiac,  advancing  from  among  the  multitude, 
approached  the  gate.  It  was  closed  and  barred 
against  him.  He  shouted  to  the  sentinels,  and 
demanded  why  he  was  refused  admittance.  Glad- 
wyn  himself  replied,  that  the  great  chief  might 
enter,  if  he  chose,  but  that  the  crowd  he  had 
brought  with  him  must  remain  outside.  Pontiac 
rejoined,  that  he  wished  all  his  warriors  to  enjoy 
the  fragrance  of  the  friendly  calumet.  Gladwyn's 
answer  was  more  concise  than  courteous,  and 
imported  that  he  would  have  none  of  his  rabble 
in  the  fort.  Thus  repulsed,  Pontiac  threw  off  the 
mask  which  he  had  worn  so  long.  With  a  grin 
of  hate  and  rage,  he  turned  abruptly  from  the  gate, 
and  strode  towards  his  followers,  who,  in  great 
multitudes,  lay  flat  upon  the  ground,  just  beyond 
reach  of  gunshot.  At  his  approach,  they  all  leaped 
up  and  ran  off,  "  yelping,"  in  the  words  of  an  eye- 
witness, "  like  so  many  devils."  ^ 

Looking  out  from  the  loopholes,  the  garrison  could 
see  them*  running  in  a  body  towards  the  house  of 

1  MS.  Letter —  Gladiuyn  to  Amherst,  May  14.    Pontiac  MS.,  &c. 


232  TREACHERY  OF  PONTIAC.  [1763,  May. 

an  old  English  woman,  who  lived,  with  her  family, 
on  a  distant  part  of  the  common.  They  beat  down 
the  doors,  and  rushed  tumultuously  in.  A  moment 
more,  and  the  mournful  scalp-yell  told  the  fate  of 
the  wretched  inmates.  Another  large  body  ran, 
yelling,  to  the  river  bank,  and,  leaping  into  their 
canoes,  paddled  with  all  speed  to  the  Isle  au 
Cochon,  where  dwelt  an  Englishman,  named  Fisher, 
formerly  a  sergeant  of  the  regulars. 

They  soon  dragged  him  from  the  hiding-place 
where  he  had  sought  refuge,  murdered  him  on  the 
spot,  took  his  scalp,  and  made  great  rejoicings 
over  this  miserable  trophy  of  brutal  malice.  On 
the  following  day,  several  Canadians  crossed  over 
to  the  island  to  inter  the  body,  which  they  accom- 
plished, as  they  thought,  very  effectually.  Tradition, 
however,  relates,  as  undoubted  truth,  that  when,  a 
few  days  after,  some  of  the  party  returned  to  the 
spot,  they  beheld  the  pale  hands  of  the  dead  man 
thrust  above  the  ground,  in  an  attitude  of  eager 
entreaty.  Having  once  more  covered  the  refrac- 
tory members  with  earth,  they  departed,  in  great 
wonder  and  awe  ;  but  what  was  their  amazement, 
when,  on  returning  a  second  time,  they  saw  the 
hands  protruding  as  before.  At  this,  they  repaired 
in  horror  to  the  priest,  who  hastened  to  the  spot, 
sprinkled  the  grave  with  holy  water,  and  performed 
over  it  the  neglected  rites  of  burial.  Thenceforth, 
says  the  tradition,  the  corpse  of  the  murdered 
soldier  slept  in  peace.^ 

1  St.  Avhin's  Account,  MS. 


1763,  Mat.]  RAGE   OF  PONTIAC.  233 

Pontiac  had  borne  no  part  in  the  wolfish  deeds 
of  his  followers.  When  he  saw  his  plan  defeated, 
he  turned  towards  the  shore ;  and  no  man  durst 
approach  him,  for  he  was  terrible  in  his  rage. 
Pushing  a  canoe  from  the  bank,  he  urged  it  with 
vigorous  strokes,  against  the  current,  towards  the 
Ottawa  village,  on  the  farther  side.  As  he  drew 
near,  he  shouted  to  the  inmates.  None  remained 
in  the  lodges  but  women,  children,  and  old  men, 
who  all  came  flocking  out  at  the  sound  of  his  impe- 
rious voice.  Pointing  across  the  water,  he  ordered 
that  all  should  prepare  to  move  the  camp  to  the  west- 
ern shore,  that  the  river  might  no  longer  interpose  a 
barrier  between  his  followers  and  the  English.  The 
squaws  labored  with  eager  alacrity  to  obey  him. 
Provisions,  utensils,  weapons,  and  even  the  bark 
covering  to  the  lodges,  were  carried  to  the  shore ; 
and  before  evening  all  was  ready  for  embarkation. 
Meantime,  the  warriors  had  come  dropping  in  from 
their  bloody  work,  until,  at  nightfall,  nearly  all 
had  returned.  Then  Pontiac,  hideous  in  his  war- 
paint, leaped  into  the  central  area  of  the  village. 
Brandishing  his  tomahawk,  and  stamping  on  the 
ground,  he  recounted  his  former  exploits,  and 
denounced  vengeance  on  the  English.  The  Indians 
flocked  about  him.  Warrior  after  warrior  caught 
the  flerce  contagion,  and  soon  the  ring  was  filled 
with  dancers,  circling  round  and  round  with  frantic 
gesture,  and  startling  the  distant  garrison  with 
unearthly  yells.^ 

The  war-dance  over,  the  work  of  embarkation 

1  Parent's  Account,  MS.     Meloche's  Account,  MS. 


234  TREACHERY   OF    PONTIAC.  [1763,  Mat. 

was  commenced,  and  long  before  morning  the 
transfer  was  complete.  The  whole  Ottawa  popu- 
lation crossed  the  river,  and  pitched  their  wigwams 
on  the  western  side,  just  above  the  mouth  of  the 
little  stream  then  known  as  Parent's  Creek,  but 
since  named  Bloody  Eun,  from  the  scenes  of  terror 
which  it  witnessed.^ 

During  the  evening,  fresh  tidings  of  disaster 
reached  the  fort.  A  Canadian,  named  Desnoyers, 
came  down  the  river  in  a  birch  canoe,  and,  landing 
at  the  water  gate,  brought  news  that  two  English 
officers.  Sir  Robert  Davers  and  Captain  Robertson, 
had  been  waylaid  and  murdered  by  the  Indians, 
above  Lake  St.  Clair.^  The  Canadian  declared, 
moreover,  that  Pontiac  had  just  been  joined  by  a 
formidable  band  of  Ojibwas,  from  the  Bay  of  Sagi- 
naw.^ These  were  a  peculiarly  ferocious  horde, 
and  their  wretched  descendants  still  retain  the  char- 
acter. 

Every  Englishman  in  the  fort,  whether  trader  or 
soldier,  was   now  ordered  under  arms.     No  man 


1  Gouin's  Account,  MS. 

2  Penn.  Gaz.  Nos.  1807,  1808. 

Extract  from  an  anonymous  letter  —  Detroit,  July  9,  1763. 

•'  You  have  long  ago  heard  of  our  pleasant  Situation,  but  the  Storm  is 
blown  over.  Was  it  not  very  agreeable  to  hear  every  Day,  of  their  cut- 
ting, carving,  boiling  and  eating  our  Companions  ?  To  see  every  Day 
dead  Bodies  floating  down  the  River,  mangled  and  disfigured  ?  But 
Britons,  you  know,  never  shrink ;  we  always  appeared  gay,  to  spite  the 
Rascals.  They  boiled  and  eat  Sir  Robert  Davers  ;  and  we  are  informed 
by  Mr.  Pauly,  who  escaped  the  other  Day  from  one  of  the  Stations  sur- 
prised at  the  breaking  out  of  the  War,  and  commanded  by  himself,  that 
he  had  seen  an  Indian  have  the  Skin  of  Captain  Robertson's  Arm  for  a 
Tobacco-Pouch !  " 

3  Pontiac  MS. 


1763,  Mat.]  GENERAL  ATTACK.  235 

lay  down  to  sleep,  and  Gladwyn  himself  walked 
the  ramparts  throughout  the  night. 

All  was  quiet  till  the  approach  of  dawn.  But 
as  the  first  dim  redness  tinged  the  east,  and  fields 
and  woods  grew  visible  in  the  morning  twilight, 
suddenly  the  war-whoop  rose  on  every  side  at  once. 
As  wolves  assail  the  wounded  bison,  howling  their 
gathering  cries  across  the  wintry  prairie,  so  the 
fierce  Indians,  pealing  their  terrific  yells,  came 
bounding  naked  to  the  assault.  The  men  hastened 
to  their  posts.  And  truly  it  was  time  ;  for  not  the 
Ottawas  alone,  but  the  whole  barbarian  swarm  — 
Wyandots,  Pottawattamies,  and  Ojibwas — were  upon 
them,  and  bullets  rapped  hard  and  fast  against  the 
palisades.  The  soldiers  looked  from  the  loopholes, 
thinking  to  see  their  assailants  gathering  for  a  rush 
against  the  feeble  .barrier.  But,  though  their  clam- 
ors filled  the  air,  and  their  guns  blazed  thick  and 
hot,  yet  very  few  were  visible.  Some  were  ensconced 
behind  barns  and  fences,  some  skulked  among 
bushes,  and  some  lay  flat  in  hollows  of  the  ground  ; 
while  those  who  could  find  no  shelter  were  leaping 
about  with  the  agility  of  monkeys,  to  dodge  the 
shot  of  the  fort.  Each  had  filled  his  mouth  with 
bullets,  for  the  convenience  of  loading,  and  each 
was  charging  and  firing  without  suspending  these 
agile  gymnastics  for  a  moment.  There  was  one 
low  hill,  at  no  great  distance  from  the  fort,  behind 
which  countless  black  heads  of  Indians  alternately 
appeared  and  vanished;  while,  all  along  the  ridge, 
then-  guns  emitted  incessant  white  puff's  of  smoke. 
Every  loophole  was  a  target  for  their  bullets  ;  but 


236  TREACHERY  OF  PONTIAC.  [1763,  Mat. 

the  fire  was  returned  with  steadiness,  and  not 
without  effect.  The  Canadian  engages  of  the  fur- 
traders  retorted  the  Indian  war-whoops  with  outcries 
not  less  discordant,  while  the  British  and  provin- 
cials paid  back  the  clamor  of  the  enemy  with 
musket  and  rifle  balls.  Within  half  gunshot  of 
the  palisades  was  a  cluster  of  outbuildings,  behind 
which  a  host  of  Indians  found  shelter.  A  cannon 
was  brought  to  bear  upon  them,  loaded  with  red-hot 
spikes.  They  were  soon  wrapped  in  flames,  upon 
which  the  disconcerted  savages  broke  away  in  a 
body,  and  ran  off  yelping,  followed  by  a  shout  of 
laughter  from  the  soldiers.^ 

For  six  hours,  the  attack  was  unabated ;  but  as 
the  day  advanced,  the  assailants  grew  weary  of 
their  futile  efforts.  Their  fire  slackened,  their 
clamors  died  away,  and  the  garrison  was  left  once 
more  in  peace,  though  from  time  to  time  a  solitary 
shot,  or  lonely  whoop,  still  showed  the  presence  of 
some  lingering  savage,  loath  to  be  balked  of  his 
revenge.  Among  the  garrison,  only  five  men  had 
been  wounded,  while  the  cautious  enemy  had  suf- 
fered but  trifling  loss. 

Gladwyn  was  still  convinced  that  the  whole  affair 
was  a  sudden  ebullition,  which  would  soon  subside  ; 
and  being,  moreover,  in  great  want  of  provisions, 
he  resolved  to  open  negotiations  with  the  Indians, 
under  cover  of  which  he  might  obtain  the  neces- 
sary supplies.  The  interpreter.  La  Butte,  who, 
like  most  of  his  countrymen,  might  be  said  to  hold 

1  Ponliac  MS.      Pern.  Gaz.  No.  1808.     MS.  IjQiier  —  Gladwyn  to  Am- 
herst, May  14,  etc. 


1763,  May.]  A   TRUCE.  237 

a  neutral  position  between  the  English  and  the 
Indians,  was  despatched  to  the  camp  of  Pontiac,  to 
demand  the  reasons  of  his  conduct,  and  declare 
that  the  commandant  was  ready  to  redress  any  real 
grievance  of  which  he  might  complain.  Two  old 
Canadians  of  Detroit,  Chapeton  and  Godefroy,  ear- 
nest to  forward  the  negotiation,  offered  to  accompany 
him.  The  gates  were  opened  for  their  departure, 
and  many  other  inhabitants  of  the  place  took  this 
opportunity  of  leaving  it,  alleging  as  their  motive, 
that  they  did  not  wish  to  see  the  approaching 
slaughter  of  the  English. 

Eeaching  the  Indian  Camp,  the  three  ambassa- 
dors were  received  by  Pontiac  with  great  apparent 
kindness.  La  Butte  delivered  his  message,  and 
the  two  Canadians  labored  to  dissuade  the  chief, 
for  his  own  good  and  for  theirs,  from  pursuing 
his  hostile  purposes.  Pontiac  stood  listening, 
armed  with  the  true  impenetrability  of  an  Indian. 
At  every  proposal,  he  uttered  an  ejaculation  of 
assent,  partly  from  a  strange  notion  of  courtesy 
peculiar  to  his  race,  and  partly  from  the  deep  dis- 
simulation which  seems  native  to  their  blood.  Yet 
with  all  this  seeming  acquiescence,  the  heart  of 
the  savage  was  unmoved  as  a  rock.  The  Canadi- 
ans were  completely  deceived.  Leaving  Chapeton 
and  Godefroy  to  continue  the  conference  and  push 
the  fancied  advantage,  La  Butte  hastened  back  to 
the  fort.  He  reported  the  happy  issue  of  his  mis- 
sion, and  added  that  peace  might  readily  be  had 
by  making  the  Indians  a  few  presents,  for  which 
they  are  always  rapaciously  eager.  When,  however. 


288  TREACHERY   OF  PONTIAC.  [1763,  May. 

he  returned  to  the  Indian  camp,  he  found,  to  his 
chagrin,  that  his  companions  had  made  no  progress 
in  the  negotiation.  Though  still  professing  a  strong 
desire  for  peace,  Pontiac  had  evaded  every  definite 
proposal.  At  La  Butte's  appearance,  all  the  chiefs 
withdrew  to  consult  among  themselves.  They 
returned  after  a  short  debate,  and  Pontiac  declared 
that,  out  of  their  earnest  desire  for  firm  and  lasting 
peace,  they  wished  to  hold  council  with  their  Eng- 
lish fathers  themselves.  With  this  view,  they  were 
especially  desirous  that  Captain  Campbell,  second 
in  command,  should  visit  their  camp.  This  veteran 
officer,  frqm  his  just,  upright,  and  manly  character, 
had  gained  the  confidence  of  the  Indians.  To  the 
Canadians  the  proposal  seemed  a  natural  one,  and 
returning  to  the  fort,  they  laid  it  before  the  com- 
mandant. Gladwyn  suspected  treachery,  but  Cap- 
tain Campbell  ui-gently  asked  permission  to  comply 
with  the  request  of  Pontiac.  He  felt,  he  said,  no 
fear  of  the  Indians,  with  whom  he  had  always 
maintained  the  most  friendly  terms.  Gladwyn, 
with  some  hesitation,  acceded ;  and  Campbell  left 
the  fort,  accompanied  by  a  junior  officer.  Lieutenant 
M'Dougal,  and  attended  by  La  Butte  and  several 
other  Canadians. 

In  the  mean  time,  M.  Gouin,  anxious  to  learn 
what  was  passing,  had  entered  the  Indian  camp, 
and,  moving  from  lodge  to  lodge,  soon  saw  and 
heard  enough  to  convince  him  that  the  two  British 
officers  were  advancing  into  the  lion's  jaws.^  He 
hastened  to  despatch  two  messengers  to  warn  them 

1  Gouin's  Account,  MS. 


1763,  M-^T.]     EMBASSY  OF  CAPTAIN  CAMPBELL.  239 

of  tlie  peril.  The  party  had  scarcely  left  the  gate 
when  they  were  met  by  these  men,  breathless  with 
running ;  but  the  warning  came  too  late.  Once 
embarked  on  the  embassy,  the  officers  would  not 
be  diverted  from  it ;  and  passing  up  the  river  road, 
they  approached  the  little  wooden  bridge  that 
led  over  Parent's  Creek.  Crossing  this  bridge,  and 
ascending  a  rising  ground  beyond,  they  saw  before 
them  the  wide-spread  camp  of  the  Ottawas.  A 
dark  multitude  gathered  along  its  outskirts,  and  no 
sooner  did  they  recognize  the  red  uniform  of  the 
officers,  than  they  all  raised  at  once  a  horrible  out- 
cry of  whoops  and  bowlings.  Indeed,  they  seemed 
disposed  to  give  the  ambassadors  the  reception 
usually  accorded  to  captives  taken  in  war ;  for  the 
women  seized  sticks,  stones,  and  clubs,  and  ran 
towards  Campbell  and  his  companion,  as  if  to  make 
them  pass  the  cruel  ordeal  of  running  the  gauntlet.^ 
Pontiac  came  forward,  and  his  voice  allayed  the 
tumult.     He  shook  the  officers  by  the  hand,  and, 


1  Wlien  a  party  returned  with  prisoners,  the  whole  population  of  the 
village  turned  out  to  receive  them,  armed  with  sticks,  clubs,  or  even 
deadlier  weapons.  The  captive  was  ordered  to  run  to  a  given  point, 
usually  some  conspicuous  lodge,  or  a  post  driven  into  the  ground,  while 
his  tormentors,  ranging  themselves  in  two  rows,  inflicted  on  him  a  mer- 
ciless flagellation,  which  only  ceased  wlien  he  had  reached  the  goal. 
Among  the  Iroquois,  prisoners  were  led  through  the  whole  confederacy, 
undergoing  this  martyrdom  at  every  village,  and  seldom  escaping  without 
the  loss  of  a  hand,  a  finger,  or  an  eye.  Sometimes  the  sufferer  was  made 
to  dance  and  sing,  for  the  better  entertainment  of  the  crowd. 

The  story  of  General  Stark  is  well  known.  Being  captured,  in  his 
youth,  by  the  Indians,  and  told  to  run  the  gauntlet,  he  instantly  knocked 
down  the  nearest  warrior,  snatched  a  club  from  his  hands,  and  wielded  it 
with  such  good-will  that  no  one  dared  approach  him,  and  he  reached  the 
goal  scot  free,  while  his  more  timorous  companion  was  nearly  beaten  to 
death. 


240  TREACHERY  OF  PONTIAC.  [1763,  May. 

turning,  led  the  way  through  the  camp.  It  was  a 
confused  assemblage  of  huts,  chiefly  of  a  conical 
or  half-spherical  shape,  and  constructed  of  a  slen- 
der framework  covered  with  rush  mats  or  sheets 
of  birch-bark.  Many  of  the  graceful  birch  canoes, 
used  by  the  Indians  of  the  upper  lakes,  were  lying 
here  and  there  among  paddles,  fish-spears,  and 
blackened  kettles  slung  above  the  embers  of  the 
fires.  The  camp  was  full  of  lean,  wolfish  dogs, 
who,  roused  by  the  clamor  of  their  owners,  kept  up 
a  discordant  baying  as  the  strangers  passed.  Pon- 
tiac  paused  before  the  entrance  of  a  large  lodge, 
and,  entering,  pointed  to  several  mats  placed  on 
the  ground,  at  the  side  opposite  the  opening. 
Here,  obedient  to  his  signal,  the  two  officers  sat 
down.  Instantly  the  lodge  was  thronged  with 
savages.  Some,  and  these  were  for  the  most  part 
chiefs,  or  old  men,  seated  themselves  on  the  ground 
before  the  strangers  ;  w^hile  the  remaining  space 
was  filled  by  a  d^nse  crowd,  crouching  or  standing 
erect,  and  peering  over  each  other's  shoulders.  At 
their  first  entrance,  Pontiac  had  spoken  a  few 
words.  A  pause  then  ensued,  broken  at  length  by 
Campbell,  who  from  his  seat  addressed  the  Indians 
in  a  short  speech.  It  was  heard  in  perfect  silence, 
and  no  reply  was  made.  For  a  full  hour,  the 
unfortunate  officers  saw  before  them  the  same 
concourse  of  dark,  inscrutable  faces,  bending  an 
unwavering  gaze  upon  them.  Some  were  passing 
out,  and  others  coming  in  to  supply  their  places,  and 
indulge  then-  curiosity  by  a  sight  of  the  Englishmen. 
At  length,  Captain  Campbell,  conscious,  no  doubt, 


1763,  Mat.]  CAMPBELL  MADE  PRISONER.  241 

of  the  danger  in  which  he  was  placed,  resolved  fully 
to  ascertain  his  true  position,  and,  rising  to  his  feet, 
declared  his  intention  of  returning  to  the  fort. 
Pontiac  made  a  sign  that  he  should  resume  his  seat. 
"  My  father,"  he  said,  ''  will  sleep  to-night  in  the 
lodges  of  his  red  children."  The  gray-haired  sol- 
dier and  his  companion  were  betrayed  into  the 
hands   of  their   enemies. 

Many  of  the  Indians  were  eager  to  kill  the  cap- 
tives on  the  spot,  but  Pontiac  would  not  carry  his 
treachery  so  far.  He  protected  them  from  injury 
and  insult,  and  conducted  them  to  the  house  of  M. 
Meloche,  near  Parent's  Creek,  where  good  quarters 
were  assigned  them,  and  as  much  liberty  allowed 
as  was  consistent  with  safe  custody.^  The  peril 
of  their  situation  was  diminished  by  the  circum- 
stance that  two  Indians,  who,  several  days  before, 
had  been  detained  at  the  fort  for  some  slight  offence, 
still  remained  prisoners  in  the  power  of  the  com- 
mandant.^ 

1  Meloche's  Aocount,  MS.  Penn.  Gaz.  No.  1808.  In  a  letter  of  James 
MacDonald,  Detroit,  July  12,  the  cu'cumstanoes  of  the  detention  of  the 
officers  are  related  somewhat  differently.  Singularly  enough,  this  letter 
of  MacDonald  is  identical  with  a  report  of  the  events  of  the  siege  sent  by 
Major  Robert  Rogers  to  Sir  WilUara  Johnson,  on  the  8th  of  August, 
Rogers,  who  was  not  an  eye-witness,  appears  to  have  borrowed  the  whole 
of  his  brother  officer's  letter  without  acknowledgment. 

2  Extract  from  a  MS.  Letter  —  Sir  J.  Amherst  to  Major  Gladwyn. 

.  "  New  York.  22nd  June,  1763 
"  The  Precautions  you  took  when  the  Perfidious  Villains  came  to  Pay 
you  a  Visit,  were  Indeed  very  wisely  Concerted  ;  And  I  Approve  Entirely 
of  the  Steps  you  have  sinc>e  taken  for  the  Defence  of  the  Place,  which,  I 
hope,  will  have  Enabled  You  to  keep  the  Savages  at  Bay  untill  the  Rein- 
forcement, which  Major  Wilkins  Writes  me  he  had  sent  you,  Arrives  with 
you. 

"I  most  sincerely  Grieve  for  the  Unfortunate   Fate  of  Sir  Robert 

16 


242  TREACHERY  OF  PONTIAC.  [1763,  Mat. 

Late  in  the  evening,  La  Butte,  the  interpreter, 
returned  to  the  fort.  His  face  wore  a  sad  and 
downcast  look,  which  sufficiently  expressed  the 
melancholy  tidings  that  he  brought.  On  hearing 
his  account,  some  of  the  officers  suspected,  though 
probably  without  ground,  that  he  was  privy  to  the 
detention  of  the  two  ambassadors ;  and  La  Butte, 
feeling  himself  an  object  of  distrust,  lingered  about 
the  streets,  sullen  and  silent,  like  the  Indians  among 
whom  his  rough  life  had  been  spent. 


Da  vers,  Lieut.  Robertson,  and  the  Rest  of  the  Poor  People,  who  have  fallen 
into  the  Hands  of  the  Merciless  Villains.  I  Trust  you  did  not  Know  of 
the  Murder  of  those  Gentlemen,  when  Pontiac  came  with  a  Pipe  of 
Peace,  for  if  you  had,  you  certainly  would  have  put  him,  and  Every  Indian 
in  your  Power,  to  Death.  Such  Retaliation  is  the  only  Way  of  Treating 
such  Miscreants. 

"  I  cannot  but  Approve  of  your  having  Permitted  Captain  Campbell 
and  Lieut.  MacDougal  to  go  to  the  Indians,  as  you  had  no  other  Method 
to  Procure  Provisions,  by  which  means  you  may  have  been  Enabled  to 
Preserve  the  Garrison ;  for  no  Other  Inducement  should  have  prevailed 
on  you  to  Allow  those  Gentlemen  to  Entrust  themselves  with  the  Sav- 
ages. I  am  Nevertheless  not  without  ray  Fears  for  them,  and  were  it  not 
that  you  have  two  Indians  in  your  Hands,  in  Lieu  of  those  Gentlemen,  I 
should  give  them  over  for  Lost. 

"  I  shall  Add  no  more  at  present ;  Capt.  Dalzell  will  Inform  you  of  the 
steps  taken  for  Reinforcing  you  :  and  you  ma}'  be  assured  —  the  utmost 
Expedition  will  be  used  for  Collecting  such  a  Force  as  may  be  SuflScient 
for  bringing  Ample  Vengeance  on  the  Treacherous  and  Bloody  Villains 
who  have  so  Perfidiously  Attacked  their  Benefactors."  MacDonald, 
and,  after  him,  Rogers,  says  that,  after  the  detention  of  the  two  officers, 
Pontiac  summoned  the  fort  to  surrender,  threatening,  in  case  of  refusal, 
to  put  all  within  to  the  torture.  The  anonymous  author  of  the  Diary  of 
the  Siege  adds  that  he  sent  word  to  Gladwyn  that  he  kept  the  oflficers  out 
of  kindness,  since,  if  they  returned  to  the  fort,  he  should  be  obliged  to 
boil  them  witli  the  rest  of  the  garrison,  the  kettle  being  already  on  the 
fire. 


CHAPTER    XII. 

1763. 
PONTIAC  AT   THE   SIEGE   OF  DETROIT. 

On  the  morning  after  the  detention  of  the  offi- 
cers, Pontiac  crossed  over,  with  several  of  his  chiefs, 
to  the  Wyandot  village.  A  part  of  this  tribe,  influ- 
enced by  Father  Pothier,  their  Jesuit  priest,  had 
refused  to  take  up  arms  against  the  English ;  but, 
being  now  threatened  with  destruction  if  they  should 
longer  remain  neutral,  they  were  forced  to  join 
the  rest.  They  stipulated,  however,  that  they 
should  be  allowed  time  to  hear  mass,  before  dan- 
cing the  war-dance.^  To  this  condition  Pontiac 
readily  agreed,  "  although,"  observes  the  chronicler 
in  the  fulness  of  his  horror  and  detestation,  "  he 
himself  had  no  manner  of  worship,  and  cared  not 
for  festivals  or  Sundays."  These  nominal  Christians 
of  Father  Pothier's  flock,  together  with  the  other 
Wyandots,  soon  distinguished  themselves  in  the 
war ;  fighting  better,  it  was  said,  than  all  the  other 
Indians, —  an  instance  of  the  marked  superiority 
of  the  Iroquois  over  the  xllgonquin  stock. 

Having  secured  these  new  allies,  Pontiac  pre- 

1  Pontiac  MS. 


244  PONTIAC   AT   DETROIT.  [1763,  May. 

pared  to  resume  his  operations  with  fresh  vigor ; 
and  to  this  intent,  he  made  an  improved  disposition 
of  his  forces.  Some  of  the  Pottawattaraies  were 
ordered  to  lie  in  wait  along  the  river  bank,  below 
the  fort ;  w^hile  others  concealed  themselves  in  the 
woods,  in  order  to  intercept  any  Englishman  who 
might  approach  by  land  or  water.  Another  band 
of  the  same  tribe  were  to  conceal  themselves  in 
the  neighborhood  of  the  fort,  when  no  general 
attack  was  going  forward,  in  order  to  shoot  down 
any  soldier  or  trader  who  might  chance  to  expose 
his  person.  On  the  eleventh  of  May,  w^hen  these 
arrangements  were  complete,  several  Canadians 
came  early  in  the  morning  to  the  fort,  to  offer  what 
they  called  friendly  advice.  It  was  to  the  effect 
that  the  garrison  should  at  once  abandon  the  place, 
as  it  would  be  stormed  within  an  hour  by  fifteen 
hundred  Indians.  Gladwyn  refused,  whereupon 
the  Canadians  departed  ;  and  soon  after  some  six 
hundred  Indians  began  a  brisk  fusillade,  which 
they  kept  up  till  seven  o'clock  in  the  evening.  A 
Canadian  then  appeared,  bearing  a  summons  from 
Pontiac,  demanding  the  surrender  of  the  fort,  and 
promising  that  the  English  should  go  unmolested 
on  board  their  vessels,  leaving  all  their  arms  and 
effects  behind.  Gladwyn  again  gave  a  flat  refusal.^ 
On  the  evening  of  that  day,  the  officers  met  to 
consider  what  course  of  conduct  the  emergency 
required ;  and,  as  one  of  them  writes,  the  com- 
mandant was  almost  alone  in  the  opinion  that  they 

1  MS.  Letter  — James  McDonald  to ,  Detroit,  July  12. 


1763,  Mat.]      INDIAN  IDEA  OF  MILITARY  HONOR.  245 

ought  still  to  defend  the  place. ^  It  seemed  to 
the  rest  that  the  only  course  remaining  was  to 
embark  and  sail  for  Niagara.  Their  condition 
appeared  desperate ;  for,  on  the  shortest  allowance, 
they  had  scarcely  provision  enough  to  sustain  the 
garrison  three  weeks,  within  Avhich  time  there  was 
little  hope  of  succor.  The  houses  being,  moreover, 
of  wood,  and  chiefly  thatched  with  straw,  might  be 
set  on  fire  with  burning  missiles.  But  the  chief 
apprehensions  of  the  officers  arose  from  their  dread 
that  the  enemy  would  make  a  general  onset,  and 
cut  or  burn  their  way  through  the  pickets,  —  a 
mode  of  attack  to  which  resistance  would  be  un- 
availing. Their  anxiety  on  this  score  was  relieved 
by  a  Canadian  in  the  fort,  who  had  spent  half  his 
life  among  Indians,  and  who  now  assured  the  com- 
mandant that  evei7  maxim  of  their  warfare  was 
opposed  to  such  a  measure.  Indeed,  an  Indian's 
idea  of  military  honor  widely  difl'ers,  as  before 
observed,  from  that  of  a  white  man  ;  for  he  holds 
it  to  consist  no  less  in  a  wary  regard  to  his  own 
life  than  in  the  courage  and  impetuosity  with 
which  he  assails  his  enemy.  His  constant  aim 
is  to  gain  advantages  without  incurring  loss. 
He  sets  an  inestimable  value  on  the  lives  of  his 
own  party,  and  deems  a  victory  dearly  purchased 
by  the  death  of  a  single  warrior.  A  war-chief 
attains  the  summit  of  his  renown  when  he  can 
boast  that  he  has  brought  home  a  score  of  scalps 
without  the  loss  of  a  man ;  and  his  reputation  is 
wofully  abridged  if  the  mournful  wailings  of  the 

1  Penn.  Gaz.  No.  1808. 


246  PONTIAC  AT  DETROIT.  [1763,  Mat. 

women  mingle  with  the  exulting  yells  of  the  war- 
riors. Yet,  with  all  his  subtlety  and  caution,  the 
Indian  is  not  a  coward,  and,  in  his  own  way  of 
fighting,  often  exhibits  no  ordinary  courage.  Steal- 
ing alone  into  the  heart  of  an  enemy's  country,  he 
prowls  around  the  hostile  village,  watching  every 
movement;  and  when  night  sets  in,  he  enters  a 
lodge,  and  calmly  stirs  the  decaying  embers,  that, 
by  their  light,  he  may  select  his  sleeping  victims. 
With  cool  deliberation  he  deals  the  mortal  thrust, 
kills  foe  after  foe,  and  tears  away  scalp  after  scalp, 
until  at  length  an  alarm  is  given ;  then,  with  a 
wild  yell,  he  bounds  out  into  the  darkness,  and  is 
gone. 

Time  passed  on,  and  brought  little  change  and 
no  relief  to  the  harassed  and  endangered  garrison. 
Day  after  day  the  Indians  continued  their  attacks, 
until  their  war-cries  and  the  rattle  of  their  guns 
became  familiar  sounds.  For  many  weeks,  no 
man  lay  down  to  sleep,  except  in  his  clothes, 
and  with  his  weapons  by  his  side.-^  Parties  of 
volunteers  sallied,  from  time  to  time,  to  burn  the 


1  MS.  Letter  from  an  officer  at  Detroit  —  no  signature  —  July  31. 

Extract  from  a  letter  dated  Detroit,  July  6. 

"  We  have  been  besieged  here  two  Months,  by  Six  Hundred  Indians. 
We  have  been  upon  the  Watch  Night  and  Day,  from  the  Commanding 
Officer  to  the  lowest  soldier,  from  the  8th  of  May,  and  have  not  had  our 
Cloaths  off,  nor  slept  all  Night  since  it  began ;  and  shall  continue  so  till 
we  have  a  Reinforcement  up.  We  then  hope  soon  to  give  a  good  ac- 
count of  the  Savages.  Their  Camp  lies  about  a  Mile  and  a  half  from  the 
Fort ;  and  that's  the  nearest  they  choose  to  come  now.  For  the  first 
two  or  three  Days  we  were  attacked  by  three  or  four  Hundred  of  them, 
but  we  gave  them  so  warm  a  Reception  that  now  they  don't  care  for 
coming  to  see  us,  tho'  they  now  and  then  get  behind  a  House  or  Garden, 
and  fire  at  us  about  three  or  four  Hundred  yards'  distance.     The  Day 


1763,  May,  June.]     PERIL  OF   THE   GARRISON.  247 

outbuildings  which  gave  shelter  to  the  enemy. 
They  cut  down  orchard  trees,  and  levelled  fences, 
until  the  ground  about  the  fort  was  clear  and 
open,  and  the  enemy  had  no  cover  left  from 
whence  to  fire.  The  two  vessels  in  the  river, 
sweeping  the  northern  and  southern  curtains  of  the 
works  with  their  fire,  deterred  the  Indians  from 
approaching  those  points,  and  gave  material  aid  to 
the  garrison.  Still,  worming  their  way  through 
the  grass,  sheltering  themselves  behind  every  rising 
ground,  the  pertinacious  savages  would  crawl  close 
to  the  palisade,  and  shoot  arrows,  tipped  with  burn- 
ing tow,  upon  the  roofs  of  the  houses  ;  but  cisterns 
and  tanks  of  water  were  everywhere  provided  against 
such  an  emergency,  and  these  attempts  proved 
abortive.  The  little  church,  which  stood  near 
the  palisade,  was  particularly  exposed,  and  would 
probably  have  been  set  on  fire,  had  not  the  priest 
of  the  settlement  threatened  Pontiac  with  the  ven- 
geance of  the  Great  Spirit,  should  he  be  guilty  of 
such  sacrilege.  Pontiac,  who  was  filled  with  eager- 
ness to  get  possession  of  the  garrison,  neglected  no 
expedient  that  his  savage  tactics  could  supply.  He 
went  farther,  and  begged  the  French  inhabitants  to 
teach  him  the  European  method  of  attacking  a 
fortified  place  by  regular  approaches  ;  but  the  rude 
Canadians  knew  as  little  of  the  matter  as  he  ;  or 
if,  by  chance,  a  few  w^ere  better  informed,  they 
wisely  preferred  to  conceal  their  knowledge.     Soon 

before  Yesterday,  we  killed  a  Chief  and  three  others,  and  wounded  some 
more ;  yesterday  went  up  with  our  Sloop,  and  battered  their  Cabins  in 
such  a  Manner  that  they  are  glad  to  keep  farther  oflf." 


248  PONTIAC  AT   DETROIT.      [1763,  May,  June. 

after  the  first  attack,  the  Ottawa  chief  had  sent 
in  to  Gladwyn  a  summons  to  surrender,  assuring 
him  that,  if  the  place  were  at  once  given  up,  he 
might  embark  on  board  the  vessels,  with  all  his 
men  ;  but  that,  if  he  persisted  in  his  defence,  he 
would  treat  him  as  Indians  treat  each  other ;  that 
is,  he  would  burn  him  alive.  To  this  Gladwyn 
made  answer  that  he  cared  nothing  for  his  threats.^ 
The  attacks  were  now  renewed  with  increased  ac- 
tivity, and  the  assailants  were  soon  after  inspired 
with  fresh  ardor  by  the  arrival  of  a  hundred  and 
twenty  Ojibwa  warriors  from  Grand  River.  Every 
man  in  the  fort,  officers,  soldiers,  traders,  and 
engages,  now  slept  upon  the  ramparts  ;  even  in 
stormy  weather  none  were  allowed  to  withdraw  to 
their  quarters ;  ^  yet  a  spiiit  of  confidence  and 
cheerfulness  still  prevailed  among  the  weary  gar- 
rison. 

Meanwhile,  great  efforts  were  made  to  procure  a 
supply  of  provisions.  Every  house  was  examined, 
and  all  that  could  serve  for  food,  even  grease  and 
tallow,  was  collected  and  placed  in  the  public 
storehouse,  compensation  having  first  been  made  to 
the  owners.  Notwithstanding  these  precautions 
Detroit  must  have  been  abandoned  or  destroyed, 
but  for  the  assistance  of  a  few  friendly  Canadians, 
and  especially  of  M.  Baby,  a  prominent  habitant^ 
who  lived  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river,  and 
provided  the  garrison  with  cattle,  hogs,  and  other 
supplies.     These,  under  cover  of  night,  were  car- 

1  Pontiac  MS.  2  Penn.  Gaz.  No.  1808. 


17G3,  May,  Juni:.]     DEL^UTATION  TO  PONTIAC.  249 

ried  from  his  farm  to  the  fort  in  boats,  the  Indians 
long  remaining  ignorant  of  what  was  going  for- 
ward.^ 

They,  on  their  part,  began  to  suffer  from  hunger. 
Thinking  to  have  taken  Detroit  at  a  single  stroke, 
they  had  neglected,  with  their  usual  improvidence, 
to  provide  against  the  exigencies  of  a  siege ;  and 
now,  in  small  parties,  they  would  visit  the  Cana- 
dian families  along  the  river  shore,  passing  from 
house  to  house,  demanding  provisions,  and  threat- 
ening violence  in  case  of  refusal.  This  was  the 
more  annoying,  since  the  food  thus  obtained  was 
wasted  with  characteristic  recklessness.  Unable  to 
endure  it  longer,  the  Canadians  appointed  a  depu- 
tation of  fifteen  of  the  eldest  among  them  to  wait 
upon  Pontiac,  and  complain  of  his  followers'  con- 
duct. The  meeting  took  place  at  a  Canadian 
house,  probably  that  of  M.  Meloche,  where  the 
great  chief  had  made  his  headquarters,  and  where 
the  prisoners,  Campbell  and  M'Dougal,  were  con- 
fined. 

1  Extract  from  a  MS.  Letter  —  Major  Gladwyn  to  Sir  J.  Amherst. 

"Detroit,  July  8th,  1763. 

"  Since  the  Commencement  of  this  Extraordinary  Aifair,  I  have  been 
Informed,  that  many  of  the  Inhabitants  of  this  Place,  seconded  by  some 
French  Traders  from  Montreal,  have  made  the  Indians  Believe  that  a 
French  Army  &  Fleet  were  in  the  River  St.  Lawrence,  and  that  Another 
Army  would  come  from  the  Illinois ;  And  that  when  I  Published  the 
cessation  of  Arms,  they  said  it  was  a  mere  Invention  of  Mine,  purposely 
Calculated  to  Keep  the  Indians  Quiet,  as  We  were  Affraid  of  them  ;  but 
they  were  not  such  Fools  as  to  Believe  me  ;  Which,  with  a  thousand 
other  Lies,  calculated  to  Stir  up  Mischief,  have  Induced  the  Indians  to 
take  up  Arms ;  And  I  dare  say  it  will  Appear  ere  long,  that  One  Half  of 
the  Settlement  merit  a  Gibbet,  and  the  Other  Half  ought  to  be  Deci- 
mated ;  Nevertheless,  there  is  some  Honest  Men  among  them,  to  whom  I 
am  Infinitely  ObUged  ;  I  mean,  Sir,  Monsieur  Navarre,  the  two  Babys,  & 
ray  Interpreters,  St.  Martin  &  La  Bute." 


250  PONTIAC  AT  DETROIT.      [1763,  May,  June. 

When  Pontiac  saw  the  deputation  approaching 
along  the  river  road,  he  was  seized  with  an  exceed- 
ing eagerness  to  know  the  purpose  of  their  visit ; 
for  having  long  desired  to  gain  the  Canadians  as 
allies  against  the  English,  and  made  several  advan- 
ces to  that  effect,  he  hoped  that  their  present  errand 
might  relate  to  the  object  next  his  heart.  So 
strong  was  his  curiosity,  that,  forgetting  the  ordi- 
nary rule  of  Indian  dignity  and  decorum,  he  asked 
the  business  on  which  they  had  come  before  they 
themselves  had  communicated  it.  The  Canadians 
replied,  that  they  wished  the  chiefs  to  be  convened, 
for  they  were  about  to  speak  upon  a  matter  of 
much  importance.  Pontiac  instantly  despatched 
messengers  to  the  different  camps  and  villages. 
The  chiefs,  soon  arriving  at  his  summons,  entered 
the  apartment,  where  they  seated  themselves  upon 
the  floor,  having  first  gone  through  the  necessary 
formality  of  shaking  hands  with  the  Canadian  depu- 
ties. After  a  suitable  pause,  the  eldest  of  the 
French  rose,  and  heavily  complained  of  the  out- 
rages which  they  had  committed.  "  You  pretend," 
he  said,  ''to  be  friends  of  the  French,  and  yet  you 
plunder  us  of  our  hogs  and  cattle,  you  trample 
upon  our  fields  of  young  corn,  and  when  you  enter 
our  houses,  you  enter  with  tomahawk  raised.  When 
your  French  father  comes  from  Montreal  with  his 
great  army,  he  will  hear  of  what  you  have  done, 
and,  instead  of  shaking  hands  with  you  as  brethren, 
he  will  punish  you  as  enemies." 

Pontiac    sat   with   his    eyes    riveted    upon    the 
ground,  listening  to  every  word  that  was  spoken. 


1763,  Mat,  June.]        SPEECH   OF  PONTIAC.  251 

When  the  speaker  had  concluded,  he  returned  the 
folio  whig  answer  :  — 

"  Brothers : 

"  We  have  never  wished  to  do  you  harm,  nor 
allow  any  to  be  done  you ;  but  among  us  there  are 
many  young  men  who,  though  strictly  watched, 
find  opportunities  of  mischief.  It  is  not  to  revenge 
myself  alone  that  I  make  war  on  the  English.  It 
is  to  revenge  you,  my  Brothers.  When  the  English 
insulted  us,  they  insulted  you  also.  I  know  that 
they  have  taken  away  your  arms,  and  made  you 
sign  a  paper  which  they  have  sent  home  to  their 
country.  Therefore  you  are  left  defenceless  ;  and 
I  mean  now  to  revenge  your  cause  and  my  own 
together.  I  mean  to  destroy  the  English,  and  leave 
not  one  upon  our  lands.  You  do  not  know  the 
reasons  from  which  I  act.  I  have  told  you  those 
only  which  concern  yourselves  ;  but  you  will  learn 
all  in  time.  You  will  cease  then  to  think  me  a 
fool.  I  know,  my  brothers,  that  there  are  many 
among  you  who  take  part  with  the  English.  I  am 
sorry  for  it,  for  their  own  sakes  ;  for  when  our 
Father  arrives,  I  shall  point  them  out  to  him,  and 
they  will  see  whether  they  or  I  have  most  reason 
to  be  satisfied  with  the  part  we  have  acted. 

"  I  do  not  doubt,  my  Brothers,  that  this  war  is 
very  troublesome  to  you,  for  our  warriors  are  con- 
tinually passing  and  repassing  through  your  settle- 
ment. I  am  sorry  for  iti  Do  not  think  that  I 
approve  of  the  damage  that  is  done  by  them  ;  and, 
as  a  proof  of  this,  remember  the  war  with  the 
Foxes,  and  the  part  which  I  took  in  it.     It  is  now 


252  PONTIAC  AT   DETROIT.       [1763,  May,  June. 

seventeen  years  since  the  Ojibwas  of  Michillimack- 
inac,  combined  with  the  Sacs  and  Foxes,  came 
down  to  destroy  you.  Who  then  defended  you? 
Was  it  not  I  and  my  young  men  1  Mickinac,  great 
chief  of  all  these  nations,  said  in  council  that  he 
would  carry  to  his  village  the  head  of  your  com- 
mandant —  that  he  would  eat  his  heart  and  drink 
his  blood.  Did  I  not  take  your  part?  Did  I  not 
go  to  his  camp,  and  say  to  him,  that  if  he  wished 
to  kill  the  French,  he  must  first  kill  me  and  my 
warriors]  Did  I  not  assist  you  in  routing  them 
and  driving  them  away  ?  ^  And  now  you  think 
that  I  would  turn  my  arms  against  you  !  No, 
my  Brothers  ;  I  am  the  same  French  Pontiac  who 
assisted  you  seventeen  years  ago.  I  am  a  French- 
man, and  I  wish  to  die  a  Frenchman ;  and  I  now 
repeat  to  you  that  you  and  I  are  one  —  that  it  is 
for  both  our  interests  that  I  should  be  avenged. 


1  The  annals  of  these  remote  and  gloomy  regions  are  involved  in  such 
obscurity,  that  it  is  hard  to  discover  the  precise  character  of  the  events 
to  which  Pontiac  here  refers.  The  only  allusion  to  them,  which  the 
writer  has  met  with,  is  the  following,  inscribed  on  a  tattered  scrap  of 
soiled  paper,  found  among  the  M'Dougal  manuscripts  :  — 

"Five  miles  below  the  mouth  of  Wolf  River  is  the  Great  Death 
Ground.  This  took  its  name  from  the  circumstance,  that  some  years 
before  the  Old  French  War,  a  great  battle  was  fought  between  the  French 
troops,  assisted  by  the  Menomonies  and  Ottaways  on  the  one  side,  and 
the  Sac  and  Fox  Indians  on  the  other.  The  Sacs  and  Foxes  were  nearly 
all  cut  off;  and  this  proved  the  cause  of  their  eventual  expulsion  from 
that  country." 

The  M'Dougal  manuscripts,  above  referred  to,  belonged  to  a  son  of  the 
Lieutenant  M'Dougal  who  was  the  fellow-prisoner  of  Major  Campbell. 
On  the  death  of  the  younger  M'Dougal,  the  papers,  which  were  very- 
voluminous,  and  contained  various  notes  concerning  the  Indian  war,  and 
the  captivity  of  his  father,  came  into  the  possession  of  a  family  at  the 
town  of  St.  Clair,  in  Michigan,  who  permitted  such  of  them  as  related  to 
the  subjects  in  question  to  be  copied  by  the  writer. 


1763,  Mat,  June.]        POLICY   OF  PONTIAC.  253 

Let  me  alone.  I  do  not  ask  you  for  aid,  for  it  is 
not  in  your  power  to  give  it.  I  only  ask  provisions 
for  myself  and  men.  Yet,  if  you  are  inclined  to 
assist  me,  I  shall  not  refuse  you.  It  would  please 
me,  and  you  yourselves  would  be  sooner  rid  of 
your  troubles ;  for  I  promise  you,  that,  as  soon  as 
the  English  are  driven  out,  we  will  go  back  to  our 
villages,  and  there  await  the  arrival  of  our  French 
Father.  You  have  heard  what  I  have  to  say ; 
remain  at  peace,  and  I  will  watch  that  no  harm 
shall  be  done  to  you,  either  by  my  men  or  by  the 
other  Indians." 

This  speech  is  reported  by  a  writer  whose  chief 
characteristic  is  the  scrupulous  accuracy  with 
which  he  has  chronicled  minute  details  without 
interest  or  importance.  He  neglects,  moreover,  no 
opportunity  of  casting  ignominy  and  contempt  upon 
the  name  of  Pontiac.  His  mind  is  of  so  dull  and 
commonplace  an  order  as  to  exclude  the  supposi- 
tion that  he  himself  is  author  of  the  words  which 
he  ascribes  to  the  Ottawa  chief,  and  the  speech 
may  probably  be  taken  as  a  literal  translation  of 
the  original. 

As  soon  as  the  council  broke  up,  Pontiac  took 
measures  for  bringing  the  disorders  complained  of 
to  a  close,  while,  at  the  same  time,  he  provided 
sustenance  for  his  warriors  ;  and,  in  doing  this,  he 
displayed  a  policy  and  forecast  scarcely  paralleled 
in  the  history  of  his  race.  He  first  forbade  the 
commission  of  farther  outrage.^     He  next  visited  in 

I  Peltier's  Account,  MS. 


254  PONTIAC   AT  DETROIT.       [1763,  May,  June. 

turn  the  families  of  the  Canadians,  and,  inspecting 
the  property  belonging  to  them,  he  assigned  to 
each  the  share  of  provisions  which  it  must  furnish 
for  the  support  of  the  Indians.^  The  contributions 
thus  levied  were  all  collected  at  the  house  of 
Meloche,  near  Parent's  Creek,  whence  they  were 
regularly  issued,  as  the  exigence  required,  to  the 
savages  of  the  different  camps.  As  the  character 
and  habits  of  an  Indian  but  ill  qualify  him  to  act 
the  part  of  commissary,  Pontiac  in  this  matter 
availed  himself  of  French  assistance. 

On  the  river  bank,  not  far  from  the  house  of 
Meloche,  lived  an  old  Canadian,  named  Quilleriez, 
a  man  of  exceeding  vanity  and  self-conceit,  and 
noted  in  the  settlement  for  the  gayety  of  his  attire. 
He  wore  moccasons  of  the  most  elaborate  pattern, 
and  a  sash  plentifully  garnished  with  beads  and 
wampum.  He  was  continually  intermeddling  in 
the  affairs  of  the  Indians,  being  anxious  to  be 
regarded  as  the  leader  or  director  among  them.^ 
Of  this  man  Pontiac  evidently  made  a  tool, 
employing  him,  together  with  several  others,  to 
discharge,  beneath  his  eye,  the  duties  of  his  novel 
commissariat.       Anxious   to   avoid   offending    the 

1  Gouin's  Account,  MS. 

2  Tradition  related  by  M.  Baby.  The  following  is  from  the  Diary  of 
the  Siege:  "  Mr.  St  Martin  said  .  .  .  that  one  Sibbold  that  came  here  last 
winter  with  his  Wife  from  the  Illinois  had  told  at  Mr.  Cuellierry's  (Quil- 
leriez) that  they  might  expect  a  French  Army  in  this  Spring,  and  that 
Report  took  rise  from  him.  That  the  Day  Capt.  Campbell  &  Lt.  McDou- 
gal  was  detained  by  the  Indians,  Mr.  CueUierry  accepted  of  their  Offer  of  being 
made  Commandant,  if  this  Place  was  taken,  to  which  he  spoke  to  Mr.  Cuel- 
lierry  about  and  ask'd  him  if  he  knew  what  he  was  doing,  to  which  Mr. 
CueUierry  told  him,  I  am  almost  distracted,  they  are  Uke  so  many  Dogs 
about  me,  to  which  Mr.  St.  Martin  made  him  no  Answer." 


1763,  Mat,  June.]     TRAITS  OF  HIS  CHARACTER.  255 

French,  yet  unable  to  make  compensation  for  the 
provisions  he  had  exacted,  Pontiac  had  recourse 
to  a  remarkable  expedient,  suggested,  no  doubt,  by 
one  of  these  European  assistants.  He  issued  pro- 
missory notes,  drawn  upon  birch-bark,  and  signed 
with  the  figure  of  an  otter,  the  totem  to  which 
he  belonged  ;  and  we  are  told  by  a  trustworthy 
authority  that  they  were  all  faithfully  redeemed.^ 
In  this,  as  in  several  other  instances,  he  exhibits 
an  openness  of  mind  and  a  power  of  adaptation 
not  a  little  extraordinary  among  a  people  whose 
intellect  will  rarely  leave  the  narrow  and  deeply 
cut  channels  in  which  it  has  run  for  ages,  who 
reject  instruction,  and  adhere  with  rigid  tenacity  to 
ancient  ideas  and  usages.  Pontiac  always  exhib- 
ited an  eager  desire  for  knowledge.  E-ogers  repre- 
sents him  as  earnest  to  learn  the  military  art  as 
practised  among  Europeans,  and  as  inquiring 
curiously  into  the  mode  of  making  cloth,  knives, 
and  the  other  articles  of  Indian  trade.  Of  his 
keen  and  subtle  genius  we  have  the  following 
singular  testimony  from  the  pen  of  General  Gage : 
"  From  a  paragraph  of  M.  D'Abbadie's  letter, 
there  is  reason  to  judge  of  Pontiac,  not  only  as  a 
savage  possessed  of  the  most  refined  cunning  and 
treachery  natural  to  the  Indians,  but  as  a  person 
of  extraordinary  abilities.  He  says  that  he  keeps 
two  secretaries,  one  to  write  for  him,  and  the  other 
to  read  the  letters  he  receives,   and  he  manages 


1  Rogers,  Account  of  North  America,  244.     The  anonymous  Diary  of  the 
Siege  says  that  they  bore  the  figure  of  a  "  coon." 


256  PONTIAC  AT  DETROIT.       [1763,  Mat,  June. 

them  so  as  to  keep  each  of  them  ignorant  of  what 
is  transacted  by  the  other."  ^ 

Major  Kogers,  a  man  familiar  with  the  Indians, 
and  an  acute  judge  of  mankind,  speaks  in  the 
highest  terms  of  Pontiac's  character  and  talents. 
'*  He  puts  on,"  he  says,  "  an  air  of  majesty  and 
princely  grandeur,  and  is  greatly  honored  and 
revered  by  his  subjects."  ^ 

In  the  present  instance,  few  durst  infringe  the 
command  he  had  given,  that  the  property  of  the 
Canadians  should  be  respected ;  indeed,  it  is  said 
that  none  of  his  followers  would  cross  the  culti- 
vated fields,  but  always  followed  the  beaten  paths  ; 
in  such  awe  did  they  stand  of  his  displeasure.^ 

Pontiac's  position  was  very  different  from  that  of 
an  ordinary  military  leader.  When  we  remember 
that  his  authority,  little  sanctioned  by  law  or  usage, 
was  derived  chiefly  from  the  force  of  his  own  indi- 
vidual mind,  and  that  it  was  exercised  over  a 
people  singularly  impatient  of  restraint,   we  may 

1  MS.  Letter—  Gage  to  Lord  Halifax,  April  16,  1764. 

Extract  from  a  MS.  Letter —  William  Smith,  Jr.,  to . 

"  New  York,  22d  Nov.  1763. 

*'  'Tis  an  old  saying  that  the  Devil  is  easier  raised  than  laid.  Sir  Jef- 
frey has  found  it  so,  with  these  Indian  Demons.  They  have  cut  his 
little  Army  to  Pieces,  &  almost  if  not  entirely  obstructed  the  Commu- 
nication to  •  the  Detroite,  where  the  Enemy  are  grown  very  numerous ; 
and  from  whence  I  fancy  you'll  soon  hear,  if  any  survive  to  relate  them, 
very  tragical  Accounts.  The  Besiegers  are  led  on  by  an  enterprising 
Fellow  called  Pondiac.  He  is  a  Genius,  for  he  possesses  great  Bravery, 
Art,  &  Oratory,  &  has  had  the  Address  to  get  himself  not  only  at  the 
Head  of  his  Conquerors,  but  elected  Generalissimo  of  all  the  confederate 
Forces  now  acting  against  us  —  Perhaps  he  may  deserve  to  be  called  the 
Mithridates  of  the  West." 

■^  Rogers,  North  America,  240. 

3  Gouin's  Account,  MS. 


1763,  Mat,  JuNB.J      TRAITS  OF  HIS  CHARACTER.  257 

better  appreciate  the  commanding  energy  that 
could  hold  control  over  spirits  so  intractable. 

The  glaring  faults  of  Pontiac's  character  have 
already  appeared  too  clearly.  He  was  artful  and 
treacherous,  bold,  fierce,  ambitious,  and  revenge- 
ful ;  yet  the  following  anecdotes  will  evince  that 
noble  and  generous  thought  was  no  stranger  to 
the  savage  hero  of  this  dark  forest  tragedy.  Some 
time  after  the  period  of  which  we  have  been  speak- 
ing, Rogers  came  up  to  Detroit,  with  a  detachment 
of  troops,  and,  on  landing,  sent  a  bottle  of  brandy, 
by  a  friendly  Indian,  as  a  present  to  Pontiac.  The 
Indians  had  always  been  suspicious  that  the  Eng- 
lish meant  to  poison  them.  Those  around  the  chief, 
endeavored  to  persuade  him  that  the  brandy  was 
drugged.  Pontiac  listened  to  what  they  said,  and, 
as  soon  as  they  had  concluded,  poured  out  a  cup 
of  the  liquor,  and  immediately  drank  it,  saying  that 
the  man  whose  life  he  had  saved  had  no  power  to 
kill  him.  He  referred  to  his  having  prevented  the 
Indians  from  attacking  Rogers  and  his  party  when 
on  their  way  to  demand  the  surrender  of  Detroit. 
The  story  may  serve  as  a  counterpart  to  the  well- 
known  anecdote  of  Alexander  the  Great  and  his 
physician.^ 

Pontiac  had  been  an  old  friend  of  Baby ;  and 
one  evening,  at  an  early  period  of  the  siege,  he 
entered  his  house,  and,  seating  himself  by  the  fire, 
looked  for  some  time  steadily  at  the  embers.  At 
length,  raising  his  head,  he  said  he  had  heard  that 
the  English  had  ofi'ered  the  Canadian  a  bushel  of 

1  Rogers,  North  America,  1^4^. 
17 


258  PONTIAC  AT  DETROIT.       [1763,  Mat,  June. 

silver  for  the  scalp  of  his  friend.  Baby  declared 
that  the  story  was  false,  and  protested  that  he  would 
never  betray  him.  Pontiac  for  a  moment  keenly 
studied  his  features.  "  My  brother  has  spoken  the 
truth,"  he  said,  "  and  I  will  show^  that  I  believe 
him."  He  remained  in  the  house  through  the 
evening,  and,  at  its  close,  wrapped  himself  in  his 
blanket,  and  lay  down  upon  a  bench,  where  he 
slept  in  full  confidence  till  morning.^ 

Another  anecdote,  from  the  same  source,  will 
exhibit  the  power  which  he  exercised  over  the 
minds  of  his  followers.  A  few  young  Wyandots 
were  in  the  habit  of  coming,  night  after  night,  to 
the  house  of  Baby,  to  steal  hogs  and  cattle.  The 
latter  complained  of  the  theft  to  Pontiac,  and 
desired  his  protection.  Being  at  that  time  igno- 
rant of  the  intercourse  between  Baby  and  the  Eng- 
lish, Pontiac  hastened  to  the  assistance  of  his 
friend,  and,  arriving  about  nightfall  at  the  house, 
walked  to  and  fro  among  the  barns  and  enclosures. 
At  a  late  hour,  he  distinguished  the  dark  forms  of 
the  plunderers  stealing  through  the  gloom.  "  Go 
back  to  your  village,  you  Wyandot  dogs,"  said  the 
Ottawa  chief;  "if  vou  tread  asrain  on  this  man's 
land,  you  shall  die."  They  slunk  back  abashed ; 
and  from  that  time  forward  the  Canadian's  property 
was  safe.  The  Ottawas  had  no  political  connec- 
tion with  the  Wyandots,  who  speak  a  language 
radically  distinct.  Over  them  he  could  claim  no 
legitimate  authority ;  yet  his  powerful  spirit  forced 

1  Tradition  related  by  M.  Fran9ois  Baby. 


1763,  Mat,  June.]     EESPECT   FOR   PONTIAC.  259 

respect  and   obedience   from   all  who  approached 
him.^ 


1  Tradition  related  bv  M.  Franr-ois  Baby,  of  Windsor,  U.  C,  the  son 
of  Pontiac's  friend,  who  lives  opposite  Detroit,  upon  nearly  the  same  site 
formerly  occupied  by  his  father's  house.  Though  Pontiac  at  this  time 
assumed  the  attitude  of  a  protector  of  the  Canadians,  he  had  previously, 
according  to  the  anonymous  Diary  of  the  Siege,  bullied  them  exceedingly, 
compelUng  them  to  plough  land  for  him,  and  do  other  work.  Once  he 
forced  them  to  carry  him  in  a  sedan  chair  from  house  to  house,  to  look 
for  provisions. 


CHAPTER    Xni. 

1763. 

ROUT  OF  CUTLER'S  DETACHMENT.  —  FATE  OF  THE 
FOREST  GARRISONS. 

While  perils  were  thickening  around  the  garri- 
son of  Detroit,  the  British  commander-in-chief  at 
New  York  remained  ignorant  of  its  danger.  In- 
deed, an  unwonted  quiet  had  prevailed,  of  late, 
along  the  borders  and  about  the  neighboring  forts. 
With  the  opening  of  spring,  a  sti'ong  detachment 
had  been  sent  up  the  lakes,  with  a  supply  of  pro- 
visions and  ammunition  for  the  use  of  Detroit  and 
the  other  western  posts.  The  boats  of  this  convoy 
were  now  pursuing  their  course  along  the  northern 
shore  of  Lake  Erie ;  and  Gladwyn's  garrison, 
aware  of  their  approach,  awaited  their  arrival  with 
an  anxiety  which  every  day  increased. 

Day  after  day  passed  on,  and  the  red  cross  of  St. 
George  still  floated  above  Detroit.  The  keen-eyed 
watchfulness  of  the  Indians  had  never  abated  ;  and 
woe  to  the  soldier  who  showed  his  head  above  the 
palisades,  or  exposed  his  person  before  a  loophole. 
Strong  in  his  delusive  hope  of  French  assistance, 
Pontiac  had  sent  messengers  to  M.  Neyon,  com- 
mandant at  the  Illinois,  earnestly  requesting  that  a 


1763,  May.]  CONDITION   OF   THE   FORT.  261 

force  of  regular  troops  might  be  sent  to  his  aid ; 
and  Gladwyn,  on  his  side,  had  ordered  one  of  the 
vessels  to  Niagara,  to  hasten  forward  the  expected 
convoy.  The  schooner  set  sail;  but  on  the  next 
day,  as  she  lay  becalmed  at  the  entrance  of  Lake 
Erie,  a  multitude  of  canoes  suddenly  darted  out 
upon  her  from  the  neighboring  shores.  In  the 
prow  of  the  foremost  the  Indians  had  placed  their 
prisoner.  Captain  Campbell,  with  the  dastardly 
purpose  of  interposing  him  as  a  screen  between 
themselves  and  the  fire  of  the  English.  But  the 
brave  old  man  called  out  to  the  crew  to  do  their 
duty,  without  regard  to  him.  Happily,  at  that 
moment  a  fresh  breeze  sprang  up  ;  the  flapping 
sails  stretched  to  the  wind,  and  the  schooner  bore 
prosperously  on  her  course  towards  Niagara,  leav- 
ing the  savage  flotilla  far  behind.^ 

The  fort,  or  rather  town,  of  Detroit  had,  by  this 
time,  lost  its  wonted  vivacity  and  life.  Its  narrow 
streets  were  gloomy  and  silent.  Here  and  there 
strolled  a  Canadian,  in  red  cap  and  gaudy  sash ; 

1  Penn.  Gaz.  No.  1807.     MS.  Letter—  Wilkins  to  Amherst,  June  18. 

This  incident  may  have  suggested  the  story  told  by  Mrs.  Grant,  in 
her  Memoirs  of  an  American  Ladij.  A  young  British  officer,  of  noble  birth, 
had  been  living  for  some  time  among  the  Indians,  and  having  encountered 
many  strange  adventures,  he  was  now  returning  in  a  canoe  with  a  party 
of  his  late  associates,  —  none  of  them,  it  appears,  were  aware  that  hostili- 
ties existed, —  and  approached  the  schooner  just  before  the  attack  com- 
menced, expecting  a  friendly  reception.     Sir  Robert  D ,  the  young 

officer,  was  in  Indian  costume,  and,  wishing  to  surprise  his  friends,  he 
made  no  answer  when  hailed  from  the  vessel,  whereupon  he  was  instantly 
fired  at  and  killed.  —  The  story  is  without  confirmation,  in  any  contem- 
porary document,  and,  indeed,  is  impossible  in  itself.  Sir  Robert  Davers 
was  killed,  as  before  mentioned,  near  Lake  St.  Clair ;  but  neither  in  his 
character,  nor  in  the  mode  of  his  death,  did  he  at  all  resemble  the 
romantic  adventurer  whose  fate  is  commemorated  by  Mrs.  Grant. 


262  ROUT  OF  CUTLER'S  DETACHMENT.     [1763,  Mat. 

the  weary  sentinel  walked  to  and  fro  before  the 
quarters  of  the  commandant;  an  officer,  perhaps, 
passed  along  with  rapid  step  and  anxious  face  ;  or 
an  Indian  girl,  the  mate  of  some  soldier  or  trader, 
moved  silently  by,  in  her  finery  of  beads  and  ver- 
milion. Such  an  aspect  as  this  the  town  must  have 
presented  on  the  morning  of  the  thirtieth  of  May, 
when,  at  about  nine  o'clock,  the  voice  of  the  senti- 
nel sounded  from  the  south-east  bastion ;  and  loud 
exclamations,  in  the  direction  of  the  river,  roused 
Detroit  from  its  lethargy.  Instantly  the  place  was 
astir.  Soldiers,  traders,  and  habitants,  hurrying 
through  the  water-gate,  thronged  the  canoe  wharf 
and  the  narrow  strand  without.  The  half- wild 
coureurs  de  hois^  the  tall  and  sinewy  provincials, 
and  the  stately  British  soldiers,  stood  crowded 
together,  their  uniforms  soiled  and  worn,  and 
their  faces  haggard  with  unremitted  watching. 
Yet  all  alike  wore  an  animated  and  joyous  look. 
The  long  expected  convoy  was  full  in  sight.  On 
the  farther  side  of  the  river,  at  some  distance  below 
the  fort,  a  line  of  boats  was  rounding  the  woody 
projection,  then  called  Montreal  Point,  their  oars 
flashing  in  the  sun,  and  the  red  flag  of  England 
flying  from  the  stern  of  the  foremost.^  The  toils 
and  dangers  of  the  garrison  were  drawing  to  an 
end.  With  one  accord,  they  broke  into  three 
hearty  cheers,  again  and  again  repeated,  while  a 
cannon,  glancing  from  the  bastion,  sent  its  loud 
voice  of  defiance  to  the  enemy,  and  welcome  to 

1  Pontiac  MS. 


1763,  May.]  A   DISAPPOINTED   GARRISON.  263 

approaching  friends.  But  suddenly  every  cheek 
grew  pale  with  horror.  Dark  naked  figures  were 
seen  rising,  with  wild  gesture,  in  the  boats,  while, 
in  place  of  the  answering  salute,  the  distant  yell 
of  the  war-whoop  fell  faintly  on  their  ears.  The 
convoy  was  in  the  hands  of  the  enemy.  The 
boats  had  all  been  taken,  and  the  troops  of  the  de- 
tachment slain  or  made  captive.  Officers  and 
men  stood  gazing  in  mournful  silence,  when  an 
incident  occurred  which  caused  them  to  forget  the 
general  calamity  in  the  absorbing  interest  of  the 
moment. 

Leaving  the  disappointed  garrison,  we  will  pass 
over  to  the  principal  victims  of  this  deplorable 
misfortune.  In  each  of  the  boats,  of  which  there 
were  eighteen,  two  or  more  of  the  captured  soldiers, 
deprived  of  their  weapons,  were  compelled  to  act 
as  rowers,  guarded  by  several  armed  savages,  while 
many  other  Indians,  for  the  sake  of  farther  security, 
followed  the  boats  along  the  shore. ^  In  the  fore- 
most, as  it  happened,  there  were  four  soldiers  and 
only  three  Indians.  The  larger  of  the  two  vessels 
still  lay  anchored  in  the  stream,  about  a  bow-shot 
from  the  fort,  while  her  companion,  as  we  have 
seen,  had  gone  down  to  Niagara  to  hasten  up  this 
very  re-enforcement.  As  the  boat  came  opposite  this 
vessel,  the  soldier  who  acted  as  steersman  conceived 
a  daring  plan  of  escape.  The  principal  Indian  sat 
immediately  in  front  of  another  of  the  soldiers.  The 
steersman  called,  in  English,  to  his  comrade  to  seize 

1  Pontiac  MS. 


264  ROUT  OF  CUTLER'S  DETACHMENT.     [1763,  Mat. 

the  savage  and  throw  him  overboard.  The  man 
answered  that  he  was  not  strong  enough  ;  on  which 
the  steersman  directed  him  to  change  places  with 
him,  as  if  fatigued  with  rowing,  a  movement  which 
would  excite  no  suspicion  on  the  part  of  their 
guard.  As  the  bold  soldier  stepped  forward,  as  if 
to  take  his  companion's  oar,  he  suddenly  seized 
the  Indian  by  the  hair,  and,  griping  with  the  other 
hand  the  girdle  at  his  waist,  lifted  him  by  main 
force,  and  flung  him  into  the  river.  The  boat 
rocked  till  the  water  surged  over  her  gunwale. 
The  Indian  held  fast  to  his  enemy's  clothes,  and, 
drawing  himself  upward  as  he  trailed  alongside, 
stabbed  him  again  and  again  with  his  knife,  and 
then  dragged  him  overboard.  Both  went  down  the 
swift  current,  rising  and  sinking ;  and,  as  some 
relate,  perished,  grappled  in  each  other's  arms.^ 
The  two  remaining  Indians  leaped  out  of  the  boat. 
The  prisoners  turned,  and  pulled  for  the  distant 
vessel,  shouting  aloud  for  aid.  The  Indians  on 
shore  opened  a  heavy  fire  upon  them,  and  many 
canoes  paddled  swiftly  in  pursuit.  The  men 
strained  with  desperate  strength.  A  fate  inexpres- 
sibly horrible  was  the  alternative.  The  bullets 
hissed  thickly  around  their  heads  ;  one  of  them 
was  soon  wounded,  and  the  light  birch  canoes 
gained  on  them  with  fearful  rapidity.  Escape 
seemed  hopeless,  when  the  report  of  a  cannon 
burst  from  the  side  of  the  vessel.  The  ball  flew 
close  past  the  boat,  beating  the  water  in  a  line  of 

1  Another  witness,  Gouin,  affirms  that  the  Indian  freed  himself  from 
the  dying  grasp  of  the  soldier,  and  swam  ashore. 


1763,  Mat.]  ESCAPE   OF  PRISONERS.  265 

foam,  and  narrowly  missing  the  foremost  canoe. 
At  this,  the  pursuers  drew  back  in  dismay  ;  and 
the  Indians  on  shore,  being  farther  saluted  by 
a  second  shot,  ceased  firing,  and  scattered  among 
the  bushes.  The  prisoners  soon  reached  the  vessel, 
where  they  were  greeted  as  men  snatched  from 
the  jaws  of  fate  ;  "  a  living  monument,"  writes  an 
officer  of  the  garrison,  "  that  Fortune  favors  the 
brave." ' 

They  related  many  particulars  of  the  catastrophe 
which  had  befallen  them  and  their  companions. 
Lieutenant  Cuyler  had  left  Fort  Niagara  as  early 
as  the  thirteenth  of  May,  and  embarked  from  Fort 
Schlosser,  just  above  the  falls,  with  ninety-six  men 
and  a  plentiful  supply  of  provisions  and  ammuni- 
tion. Day  after  day  he  had  coasted  the  northern 
shore  of  Lake  Erie,  and  seen  neither  friend  nor  foe 
amid  those  lonely  forests  and  waters,  until,  on  the 
twenty-eighth  of  the  month,  he  landed  at  Point 
Pelee,  not  far  from  the  mouth  of  the  River  Detroit. 
The  boats  w^ere  drawn  on  the  beach,  and  the  party 
prepared  to  encamp.  A  man  and  a  boy  went  to 
gather  firewood  at  a  short  distance  from  the  spot, 
when  an  Indian  leaped  out  of  the  woods,  seized 
the  boy  by  the  hair,  and  tomahawked  him.  The 
man  ran  into  camp  w4th  the  alarm.  Cuyler  imme- 
diately formed  his  soldiers  into  a  semicircle  before 
the  boats.  He  had  scarcely  done  so  when  the 
enemy  opened  their  fire.  For  an  instant,  there  was 
a  hot  blaze   of  musketry  on  both  sides ;   then  the 

1  Penn.  Gaz.  No.  1807.  St.  Aubin's  Account,  MS.  Peltier's  Account, 
MS. 


266  ROUT    OF  CUTLER'S  DETACHMENT.     [1763,  Mat. 

Indians  broke  out  of  the  woods  in  a  body,  and 
rushed  fiercely  upon  the  centre  of  the  line,  which 
gave  way  in  every  part ;  the  men  flinging  down 
their  guns,  running  in  a  blind  panic  to  the  boats, 
and  struggling  with  ill-directed  efl'orts  to  shove 
them  into  the  water.  Five  were  set  afloat,  and 
pushed  off  from  the  shore,  crowded  with  the  terri- 
fied soldiers.  Cuyler,  seeing  himself,  as  he  says, 
deserted  by  his  men,  waded  up  to  his  neck  in  the 
lake,  and  climbed  into  one  of  the  retreating  boats. 
The  Indians,  on  their  part,  pushing  two  more  afloat, 
went  in  pursuit  of  the  fugitives,  three  boat-loads  of 
whom  allowed  themselves  to  be  recaptured  without 
resistance  ;  but  the  remaining  two,  in  one  of  which 
was  Cuyler  himself,  made  their  escape.^  They 
rowed  all  night,  and  landed  in  the  morning  upon 
a  small  island.  Between  thirty  and  forty  men, 
some  of  whom  were  wounded,  were  crowded  in 
these  two  boats  ;  the  rest,  about  sixty  in  number, 
being  killed  or  taken.  Cuyler  now  made  for 
Sandusky,  which,  on  his  arrival,  he  found  burnt 
to  the  ground.  Immediately  leaving  the  spot, 
he  rowed  along  the  south  shore  to  Presqu'  Isle, 
from    whence  he    proceeded   to    Niagara    and    re- 


1  "  Being  abandoned  by  my  men,  I  was  Forced  to  Retreat  in  the  best 
manner  I  could.  I  was  left  with  6  men  on  the  Beecli,  Endeavoring  to  get 
off  a  Boat,  which  not  being  able  to  Etfect,  was  Obliged  to  Run  up  to  my 
Neck,  in  the  Lake,  to  get  to  a  Boat  that  had  pushed  off,  without  my 
Knowledge.  —  When  I  was  in  the  Lake  I  saw  Five  Boats  manned,  and 
the  Indians  having  manned  two  Boats,  pursued  and  Brought  back  Three 
of  the  Five,  keeping  a  continual  Fire  from  off  the  Shore,  and  from  the  two 
Boats  that  followed  us,  about  a  Mile  on  the  Lake;  the  Wind  springing  up 
fair,  I  and  the  other  Remaining  Boat  Hoisted  sail  and  escaped." — Cuyler's 
Report,  MS. 


1763,  May.]  INDIAN  DEBAUCH. 


267 


ported   his  loss  to  Major  Wilkins,  the    command- 
ing officer.^ 

The  actors  in  this  bold  and  well-executed  stroke 
were  the  Wyandots,  who,  for  some  days,  had  lain 
in  ambush  at  the  mouth  of  the  river,  to  intercept 
trading  boats  or  parties  of  troops.  Seeing  the  fright 
and  confusion  of  Cuyler's  men,  they  had  forgotten 
their  usual  caution,  and  rushed  upon  them  in  the 
manner  described.  The  ammunition,  provisions, 
and  other  articles,  taken  in  this  attack,  formed  a 
valuable  prize  ;  but,  unfortunately,  there  was,  among 
the  rest,  a  great  quantity  of  whiskey.  This  the  In- 
dians seized,  and  carried  to  their  respective  camps, 
which,  throughout  the  night,  presented  a  scene  of 
savage  revelry  and  riot.  The  liquor  was  poured 
into  vessels  of  birch -bark,  or  any  thing  capable  of 
containing  it;  and  the  Indians,  crowding  around, 
scooped  it  up  in  their  cups  and  ladles,  and  quaffed 
the   raw   w^hiskey   like    water.      While    some   sat 

1  Cuyler's  Report,  MS. 

Extract  from  a  MS.  Letter  —  Major  Wilkins  to  Sir  J.  Amherst. 

"  Niagara,  6th  June,  1763. 

"  Just  as  I  was  sending  off  my  Letter  of  Yesterday,  Lieutenant  Cuy- 
ler,  of  the  Queen's  Rangers,  Arrived  from  his  Intended  Voyage  to  the 
Detroit.  He  has  been  very  Unfortunate,  Having  been  Defeated  by  Indians 
within  30  miles  of  the  Detroit  River ;  I  observed  that  he  was  Wounded 
and  Weak,  and  Desired  him  to  take  the  Surgeon's  Assistance  and  some 
Rest,  and  Recollect  the  Particulars  of  the  Affair,  and  let  me  have  them  in 
Writing,  as  perhaps  I  sliould  find  it  Necessary  to  Transmit  them  to  Your 
Excellency,  which  I  have  now  Done. 

"  It  is  probable  Your  Excellency  will  have  heard  of  what  has  Hap- 
pened by  way  of  Fort  Pitt,  as  Ensign  Christie,  Commanding  at  Presqu'  Isle, 
writes  me  he  has  sent  an  Express  to  Acquaint  the  Commanding  Officer  at 
that  Place,  of  Sanduskie's  being  Destroyed,  and  of  Lieut.  Cuyler's  Defeat. 

"  Some  Indians  of  the  Six  Nations  are  now  with  me.  They  seem 
very  Civil ;  The  Interpreter  has  just  told  them  I  was  writing  to  Your 
Excellency  for  Rum,  and  they  are  very  glad." 


268  ROUT  OF  CUTLER'S  DETACHMENT.     [1763,  May. 

apart,  wailing  and  moaning  in  maudlin  drunken- 
ness, others  were  maddened  to  the  ferocity  of  wild 
beasts.  Dormant  jealousies  were  awakened,  old 
forgotten  quarrels  kindled  afresh,  and,  had  not  the 
squaws  taken  the  precaution  of  hiding  all  the 
weapons  they  could  find  before  the  debauch  began, 
much  blood  would,  no  doubt,  have  been  spilt.  As 
it  was,  the  savages  were  not  entirely  without  means 
of  indulging  their  drunken  rage.  Many  were 
wounded,  of  whom  two  died  in  the  morning ;  and 
several  others  had  their  noses  bitten  off, — a  singular 
mode  of  revenge,  much  in  vogue  upon  similar  occa- 
sions, among  the  Indians  of  the  upper  lakes.  The 
English  were  gainers  by  this  scene  of  riot ;  for  late 
in  the  evening,  two  Indians,  in  all  the  valor  and 
vain-glory  of  drunkenness,  came  running  directly 
towards  the  fort,  boasting  their  prowess  in  a  loud 
voice  ;  but  being  greeted  with  two  rifle  bullets,  they 
leaped  into  the  air  like  a  pair  of  wounded  bucks, 
and  fell  dead  on  their  tracks. 

It  will  not  be  proper  to  pass  over  in  silence  the 
fate  of  the  unfortunate  men  taken  prisoners  in  this 
affair.  After  night  had  set  in,  several  Canadians 
came  to  the  fort,  bringing  vague  and  awful  reports 
of  the  scenes  that  had  been  enacted  at  the  Indian 
camp.  The  soldiers  gathered  round  them,  and, 
frozen  with  horror,  listened  to  the  appalling  narra- 
tive. A  cloud  of  deep  gloom  sank  down  upon  the 
garrison,  and  none  could  help  reflecting  how  thin 
and  frail  a  barrier  protected  them  from  a  similar 
fate.  On  the  following  day,  and  for  several  succeed- 
ing days,  they  beheld  frightful  confirmation  of  the 


1763,  Mat.]  FATE   OF  TUE   CAPTIVES.  269 

rumors  they  had  heard.  Naked  corpses,  gashed 
with  knives  and  scorched  with  fire,  floated  down 
on  the  pure  waters  of  the  Detroit,  whose  fish  came 
up  to  nibble  at  the  clotted  blood  that  clung  to  their 
ghastly  faces. ^ 


1  "The  Indians,  fearing  that  the  other  barges  might  escape  as  the  first 
had  done,  changed  their  plan  of  going  to  the  camp.  They  landed  their 
prisoners,  tied  them,  and  conducted  them  by  land  to  the  Ottawas  village, 
and  then  crossed  them  to  Pondiac's  camp,  where  they  were  all  butchered. 
As  soon  as  the  canoes  reached  the  shore,  the  barbarians  landed  their 
prisoners,  one  after  the  other,  on  the  beach.  They  made  them  strip 
themselves,  and  then  sent  arrows  into  different  parts  of  their  bodies. 
These  unfortunate  men  wished  sometimes  to  throw  themselves  on  the 
ground  to  avoid  the  arrows  ;  but  they  were  beaten  with  sticks  and  forced 
to  stand  up  until  they  fell  dead  ;  after  which  those  who  had  not  fired  fell 
upon  their  bodies,  cut  them  in  pieces,  cooked,  and  ate  them.  On  others 
they  exercised  different  modes  of  torment  by  cutting  their  flesh  with 
flints,  and  piercing  them  with  lances.  They  would  then  cut  their  feet  and 
hands  off,  and  leave  them  weltering  in  tlieir  blood  till  they  were  dead. 
Others  were  fastened  to  stakes,  and  children  employed  in  burning  them 
with  a  slow  tire.  No  kind  of  torment  was  left  untried  by  these  Indians. 
Some  of  the  bodies  were  left  on  shore  ;  others  were  thrown  into  the  river. 
Even  the  women  assisted  their  husbands  in  torturing  their  victims.  They 
sUtted  them  with  their  knives,  and  mangled  them  in  various  ways.  There 
were,  however,  a  few  whose  lives  were  saved,  being  adopted  to  serve  as 
slaves."  —  Pontine  MS. 

"  The  remaining  barges  proceeded  up  the  river,  and  crossed  to  the 
house  of  Mr.  Meloche,  where  Pontiac  and  his  Ottawas  were  encamped. 
The  barges  were  landed,  and,  the  women  having  arranged  themselves  in 
two  rows,  with  clubs  and  sticks,  the  prisoners  were  taken  out,  one  by 
one,  and  told  to  run  the  gauntlet  to  Pontiac's  lodge.  Of  sixty-six  persons 
who  were  brought  to  the  shore,  sixty-four  ran  the  gauntlet,  and  were  all 
killed.  One  of  the  remaining  two,  who  had  had  his  thigh  broken  in  the 
firing  from  the  shore,  and  who  was  tied  to  his  seat  and  compelled  to  row, 
had  become  by  this  time  so  much  exhausted  that  he  could  not  help  him- 
self. He  was  thrown  out  of  the  boat  and  killed  with  clubs.  The  other, 
when  directed  to  run  for  the  lodge,  suddenly  fell  upon  his  knees  in  the 
water,  and  having  dipped  his  hand  in  the  water,  he  made  the  sign  of  the 
cross  on  his  forehead  and  breast,  and  darted  out  in  the  stream.  An  expert 
swimmer  from  the  Indians  followed  him,  and,  having  overtaken  him, 
seized  him  by  the  hair,  and  crying  out,  '  You  seem  to  love  water ;  you 
shall  have  enough  of  it,'  he  stabbed  the  poor  fellow,  who  sunk  to  rise  no 
more."  — Gouin's  Account,  MS. 


270  KOUT  OF  CUYLER'S  DETACHMENT.     [1768,  Mat. 

Late  one  afternoon,  at  about  this  period  of  the 
siege,  the  garrison  were  again  greeted  with  the  dis- 
mal cry  of  death,  and  a  line  of  naked  warriors  was 
seen  issuing  from  the  woods,  which,  like  a  wall 
of  foliage,  rose  beyond  the  pastures  in  rear  of  the 
fort.  Each  savage  was  painted  black,  and  each 
bore  a  scalp  fluttering  from  the  end  of  a  pole.  It 
was  but  too  clear  that  some  new  disaster  had  be- 
fallen ;  and  in  truth,  before  nightfall,  one  La  Brosse, 
a  Canadian,  came  to  the  gate  with  the  tidings  that 
Fort  Sandusky  had  been  taken,  and  all  its  garrison 
slain  or  made  captive.^  This  post  had  been  attacked 
by  the  band  of  Wyandots  living  in  its  neighbor- 
hood, aided  by  a  detachment  of  their  brethren  from 
Detroit.  Among  the  few  survivors  of  the  slaughter 
was  the  commanding  officer.  Ensign  Paully,  who 
had  been  brought  prisoner  to  Detroit,  bound  hand 
and  foot,  and  solaced  on  the  passage  with  the  ex- 
pectation of  being  burnt  alive.  On  landing  near 
the  camp  of  Pontiac,  he  was  surrounded  by  a  crowd 
of  Indians,  chiefly  squaws  and  children,  who  pelted 
him  with  stones,  sticks,  and  gravel,  forcing  him  to 
dance  and  sing,  though  by  no  means  in  a  cheerful 
strain.  A  worse  infliction  seemed  in  store  for  him, 
when  happily  an  old  woman,  whose  husband  had 
lately  died,  chose  to  adopt  him  in  place  of  the 
deceased  warrior.  Seeing  no  alternative  but  the 
stake,  Paully  accepted  the  proposal ;  and,  having 
been  first  plunged  in  the  river,  that  the  white  blood 
might  be  washed  from  his  veins,  he  was  conducted 

1  Pmtiac  MS. 


1763.  Mat.]  FORT   SANDUSKY.  271 

to  the  lodge  of  the  widow,  and  treated  thenceforth 
with  all  the  consideration  due  to  an  Ottawa  warrior. 
Gladwyn  soon  received  a  letter  from  him,  through 
one  of  the  Canadian  inhabitants,  giving  a  full 
account  of  the  capture  of  Fort  Sandusky.  On  the 
sixteenth  of  May  —  such  was  the  substance  of 
the  communication  —  Paully  was  informed  that 
seven  Indians  were  waiting  at  the  gate  to  speak 
with  him.  As  several  of  the  number  were  well 
known  to  him,  he  ordered  them,  without  hesitation, 
to  be  admitted.  Arriving  at  his  quarters,  two  of 
the  treacherous  visitors  seated  themselves  on  each 
side  of  the  commandant,  while  the  rest  were  dis- 
posed in  various  parts  of  the  room.  The  pipes 
were  lighted,  and  the  conversation  began,  when  an 
Indian,  who  stood  in  the  doorway,  suddenly  made 
a  signal  by  raising  his  head.  Upon  this,  the  aston- 
ished officer  was  instantly  pounced  upon  and 
disarmed  ;  while,  at  the  same  moment,  a  confused 
noise  of  shrieks  and  yells,  the  firing  of  guns,  and 
the  hurried  tramp  of  feet,  sounded  from  the  area 
of  the  fort  without.  It  soon  ceased,  however,  and 
Paully,  led  by  his  captors  from  the  room,  saw  the 
parade  ground  strown  with  the  corpses  of  his  mur- 
dered garrison.  At  nightfall,  he  was  conducted  to 
the  margin  of  the  lake,  where  several  birch  canoes 
lay  in  readiness ;  and  as,  amid  thick  darkness,  the 
party  pushed  out  from  shore,  the  captive  saw  the 
fort,  lately  under  his  command,  bursting  on  all 
sides  into  sheets  of  flame. ^ 

1  MS.  OflBcial  Document  —  EepoH  of  the  Loss  of  the  Posts  in  the  Indian 
Country,  enclosed  in  a  letter  from  Major  Gladwyn  to  Sir  Jeflfrey  Amherst, 
July  8,  1763. 


272  FATE  OF  THE  FOREST  GARRISONS.     [1763,  June. 

Soon  after  these  tidings  of  the  loss  of  Sandusky, 
Gladwyn's  garrison  heard  the  scarcely  less  unwel- 
come news  that  the  strength  of  their  besiegers  had 
been  re-enforced  by  two  strong  bands  of  Ojibwas. 
Pontiac's  forces  in  the  vicinity  of  Detroit  now 
amounted,  according  to  Canadian  computation,  to 
about  eight  hundred  and  twenty  warriors.  Of 
these,  two  hundred  and  fifty  were  Ottawas,  com- 
manded by  himself  in  person  ;  one  hundred  and 
fifty  were  Pottawattamies,  under  Ninivay ;  fifty 
were  Wyandots,  under  Takee  ;  two  hundred  were 
Ojibwas,  under  Wasson ;  and  added  to  these  were 
a  hundred  and  seventy  of  the  same  tribe,  under 
their  chief,  Sekahos.^  As  the  warriors  brought 
their  squaws  and  children  with  them,  the  whole 
number  of  savages  congregated  about  Detroit  no 
doubt  exceeded  three  thousand ;  and  the  neighbor- 
ing fields  and  meadows  must  have  presented  a 
picturesque  and  stirring  scene. 

The  sleepless  garrison,  worn  by  fatigue  and  ill 
fare,  and  harassed  by  constant  petty  attacks,  were 
yet  farther  saddened  by  the  news  of  disaster  which 
thickened  from  every  quarter.  Of  all  the  small 
posts  scattered  at  intervals  through  the  vast  wilder- 
ness to  the  westward  of  Niagara  and  Fort  Pitt,  it 
soon  appeared  that  Detroit  alone  had  been  able  to 
sustain  itself.  For  the  rest,  there  was  but  one 
unvaried  tale  of  calamity  and  ruin.  On  the  fif- 
teenth of  June,  a  number  of  Pottawattamies  were 
seen  approaching  the  gate  of  the  fort,  bringing 
with  them  four  English  prisoners,  who  proved  to 

1  Pontiac  MS. 


1763,  Mat.]  FORT   ST.  JOSEPH.  273 

be  Ensign  Schlosser,  lately  commanding  at  St. 
Joseph's,  together  with  three  private  soldiers. 
The  Indians  wished  to  exchange  them  for  several 
of  their  own  tribe,  who  had  been  for  nearly  two 
months  prisoners  in  the  fort.  After  some  delay, 
this  was  effected ;  and  the  garrison  then  learned  the 
unhappy  fate  of  their  comrades  at  St.  Joseph's. 
This  post  stood  at  the  mouth  of  the  River  St. 
Joseph's,  near  the  head  of  Lake  Michigan,  a  spot 
which  had  long  been  the  site  of  a  Eoman  Catholic 
mission.  Here,  among  the  forests,  swamps,  and 
ocean-like  waters,  at  an  unmeasured  distance  from 
any  abode  of  civilized  man,  the  indefatigable  Jesuits 
had  labored  more  than  half  a  century  for  the 
spiritual  good  of  the  Pottawattamies,  who  lived 
in  great  numbers  near  the  margin  of  the  lake. 
As  early  as  the  year  1712,  as  Father  Marest 
informs  us,  the  mission  was  in  a  thriving  state, 
and  around  it  had  gathered  a  little  colony  of  the 
forest-loving  Canadians.  Here,  too,  the  French 
government  had  established  a  military  post,  whose 
garrison,  at  the  period  of  our  narrative,  had  been 
supplanted  by  Ensign  Schlosser,  with  his  command 
of  fourteen  men,  a  mere  handful,  in  the  heart  of 
a  wilderness  swarming  with  insidious  enemies. 
They  seem,  however,  to  have  apprehended  no 
danger,  when,  on  the  twenty-fifth  of  May,  early  in 
the  morning,  the  officer  was  informed  that  a  large 
party  of  the  Pottawattamies  of  Detroit  had  come 
to  pay  a  visit  to  their  relatives  at  St.  Joseph's. 
Presently,  a  chief,  named  Washashe,  with  three  or 
four  followers,  came  to  his  quarters,  as  if  to  hold  a 

18 


274  FATE  OF  THE  FOREST  GARRISONS.      [1763,  Mat. 

friendly  "  talk  ; ''  and  immediately  after  a  Canadian 
came  in  with  intelligence  that  the  fort  was  sur- 
rounded by  Indians,  who  evidently  had  hostile 
intentions.  At  this.  Schlosser  ran  out  of  the  apart- 
ment, and  crossing  the  parade,  which  was  full  of 
Indians  and  Canadians,  hastily  entered  the  barracks. 
These  were  also  crowded  with  savages,  very  inso- 
lent and  disorderly.  Calling  upon  his  sergeant  to 
get  the  men  under  arms,  he  hastened  out  again 
to  the  parade,  and  endeavored  to  muster  the 
Canadians  together;  but  while  busying  himself 
with  these  somewhat  unwilling  auxiliaries,  he 
heard  a  wild  cry  from  within  the  barracks.  In- 
stantly all  the  Indians  in  the  fort  rushed  to  the 
gate,  tomahawked  the  sentinel,  and  opened  a  free 
passage  to  their  comrades  without.  In  less  than 
two  minutes,  as  the  officer  declares,  the  fort  was 
plundered,  eleven  men  were  killed,  and  himself, 
with  the  three  survivors,  made  prisoners,  and 
bound  fast.  They  then  conducted  him  to  Detroit, 
where  he  was  exchanged  as  we  have  already 
seen.^ 

1  Loss  of  the  Posts  in  the  Indian  Country,  MS.  Compare  Diary  of  the 
Siege,  25. 

The  following  is  from  a  curious  letter  of  one  Richard  Winston,  a  trader 
at  St.  Joseph's,  to  his  fellow-traders  at  Detroit,  dated  19  June,  1763  :  — 

"  Gentlemen,  I  address  myself  to  you  all,  not  knowing  who  is  alive  or 
who  is  dead.  I  have  only  to  inform  you  that  by  the  blessing  of  God  and 
the  help  of  M.  Louison  Chevalie,  I  escaped  being  killed  when  the  unfor- 
tunate garrison  was  massacred,  Mr.  Hambough  and  me  being  hid  in  the 
house  of  the  said  Chevalie  for  4  days  and  nights.  Mr.  Hambough  is 
brought  by  the  Savages  to  the  Illinois,  likewise  Mr.  Chim.  Unfortunate 
me  remains  here  Captive  with  the  Savages.  I  must  say  that  I  met  with 
no  bad  usage;  however,  I  would  that  I  was  (with)  some  Christian  or 
other.  I  am  quite  naked,  &  Mr.  Castacrow,  who  is  indebted  to  Mr.  Cole, 
would  not  give  me  one  inch  to  save  me  from  death." 


1763,  June.]     LETTER  FROM  CAPT.  ETHERINGTON.  275 

Three  days  after  these  tidings  reached  Detroit, 
Father  Jonois,  a  Jesuit  priest  of  the  Ottawa  mis- 
sion near  Michillimackinac,  came  to  Pontiac's  camp, 
together  with  the  son  of  Minavavana,  great  chief 
of  the  Ojibwas,  and  several  other  Indians.  On  the 
following  morning,  he  appeared  at  the  gate  of  the 
fort,  bringing  a  letter  from  Captain  Etherington, 
commandant  at  Michillimackinac.  The  commence- 
ment of  the  letter  was  as  follows :  — 

"  Michillimackinac,  12  June,  1763. 

"  Sir : 

"  Notwithstanding  what  I  wrote  you  in  my  last, 
that  all  the  savages  were  arrived,  and  that  every 
thing  seemed  in  perfect  tranquillity,  yet  on  the 
second  instant  the  Chippeways,  w^ho  live  in  a  plain 
near  this  fort,  assembled  to  play  ball,  as  they  had 
done  almost  every  day  since  their  arrival.  They 
played  from  morning  till  noon ;  then,  throwing 
their  ball  close  to  the  gate,  and  observing  Lieu- 
tenant Lesley  and  me  a  few  paces  out  of  it,  they 
came  behind  us,  seized  and  carried  us  into  the 
woods. 

"  In  the  mean  time,  the  rest  rushed  into  the  fort, 
where  they  found  their  squaws,  whom  they  had 
previously  planted  there,  with  their  hatchets  hid 
under  their  blankets,  which  they  took,  and  in  an 
instant  killed  Lieutenant  Jamet,  and  fifteen  rank 
and  file,  and  a  trader  named  Tracy.  They  wounded 
two,  and  took  the  rest  of  the  garrison  prisoners, 
five  of  whom  they  have  since  killed. 

"  They  made  prisoners  all  the  English  traders, 
and  robbed  them  of  every  thing  they  had ;  but  they 


276  FATE  OF  THE  FOREST  GARRISONS.     [1763,  June. 

offered  no  violence  to  the  persons  or  property  of 
any  of  the  Frenchmen." 

Captain  Etherington  next  related  some  particu- 
lars of  the  massacre  at  Michillimackinac,  sufficiently 
startling,  as  will  soon  appear.  He  spoke  in  high 
terms  of  the  character  and  conduct  of  Father 
Jonois,  and  requested  that  Gladwyn  would  send 
all  the  troops  he  could  spare  up  Lake  Huron,  that 
the  post  might  be  recaptured  from  the  Indians,  and 
garrisoned  afresh.  Gladwyn,  being  scarcely  able  to 
defend  himself,  could  do  nothing  for  the  relief  of 
his  brother  officer,  and  the  Jesuit  set  out  on  his 
long  and  toilsome  canoe  voyage  back  to  Michilli- 
mackinac.^ The  loss  of  this  place  was  a  very 
serious  misfortune,  for,  next  to  Detroit,  it  was  the 
most  important  post  on  the  upper  lakes. 

The  next  news  which  came  in  was  that  of  the 
loss  of  Ouatanon,  a  fort  situated  upon  the  Wabash, 
a  little  below  the  site  of  the  present  town  of  La 
Fayette.  Gladwyn  received  a  letter  from  its  com- 
manding officer.  Lieutenant  Jenkins,  informing 
him  that,  on  the  first  of  June,  he  and  several  of 
his  men  had  been  made  prisoners  by  stratagem,  on 
which  the  rest  of  the  garrison  had  surrendered. 
The  Indians,  however,  apologized  for  their  con- 
duct, declaring  that  they  acted  contrary  to  their 
own  inclinations,  and  that  the  surrounding  tribes 
compelled  them  to  take  up  the  hatchet.^     These 

1  Pontiac  MS. 

2  «'  Ouatanon,  June  1st,  1763. 
"  Sir : 

"  I  have  heard  of  your  situation,  which  gives  me  great  Pain  ;  indeed, 
we  are  not  in  much  better,  for  this  morning  the  Indians  sent  for  me,  to 


1763,  Mat.]  FORT   MIAMI.  277 

excuses,  so  consolatory  to  the  sufferers,  might  prob- 
ably have  been  founded  in  truth,  for  these  savages 
were  of  a  character  less  ferocious  than  many  of  the 
others,  and  as  they  were  farther  removed  from  the 
settlements,  they  had  not  felt  to  an  equal  degree 
the  effects  of  English  insolence  and  encroachment. 
Close    upon  these   tidings  came  the  news    that 
Fort  Miami  was  taken.     This  post,  standing  on  the 
Eiver  Maumee,  was  commanded  by  Ensign  Holmes. 
And  here  I  cannot  but  remark  on  the  forlorn  situa- 
tion of  these  officers,  isolated   in   the  wilderness, 
hundreds  of  miles,  in   some    instances,   from    any 
congenial  associates,  separated  from  every  human 
being  except  the  rude   soldiers  under   their  com- 

speak  to  me,  and  Immediately  bound  me,  when  I  got  to  their  Cabbin  and 
I  soon  found  some  of  my  Soldiers  in  the  same  Condition  :  They  told  me 
Detroit,  Miamis,  and  all  them  Posts  were  cut  oflf,  and  that  it  was  a  Folly 
to  make  any  Resistance,  therefore  desired  me  to  make  the  few  Soldiers, 
that  were  in  the  Fort,  surrender,  otherwise  they  would  put  us  all  to 
Death,  in  case  one  man  was  killed.     They  were  to  have  fell  on  us  and 
killed  us  all,  last  night,  but  Mr.  Maisongville  and  Lorain  gave  them  wam- 
pum not  to  kill  us,  &  when  they  told  the  Interpreter  that  we  were  all  to 
be  killed  &  he  knowing  the  condition  of  the  Fort,  beg'd  of  them  to  make 
us  prisoners.     They  have  put  us  into  French  houses,  &  both  Indians  and 
French  use  us  very  well :  All  these  Nations  say  they  are  very  sorry  but 
that  they  were  obhged  to  do  it  by  the  Other  Nations.     The  Belt  did  not 
Arrive  here  'till  last  night  about  Eight  o'Clock.     Mr.  Lorain  can  inform 
you  of  all     Just  now  Received  the  News  of  St.  Joseph  s  being  taken, 
Eleven  men  killed  and  three  taken  Prisoners  with  the  Officer :  I  have 
nothing  more  to  say,  but  that  I  sincerely  wish  you  a  speedy  succour,  and 
that  we  may  be  able  to  Revenge  ourselves  on  those  that  Deserve  it. 
"  I  Remain,  with  my  Sincerest  wishes  for  your  safety, 
"  Your  most  humble  servant, 

"  Edwd  Jenkins. 

«  N.B.  We  expect  to  set  off  in  a  day  or  two  for  the  Illinois." 
This  expectation  was  not  fulfilled,  and  Jenkins  remained  at  Ouatanon. 
A  letter  from  him  is  before  me,  written  from  thence  to  Gladwyn  on  the 
29th  July  in  which  he  complains  that  the  Canadians  were  secretly  advis- 
ing the  Indians  to  murder  aU  the  EngUsh  in  the  West. 


278  FATE  OF  THE  FOREST  GARRISONS.     [1763,  Mat. 

mand,  and  the  white  or  red  savages  who  ranged 
the  surrounding  woods.  Holmes  suspected  the 
intention  of  the  Indians,  and  was  therefore  on  his 
guard,  when,  on  the  twenty-seventh  of  May,  a 
young.  Indian  girl,  who  lived  with  him,  came  to 
.tell  him  that  a  squaw  lay  dangerously  ill  in  a  wig- 
wam near  the  fort,  and  urged  him  to  come  to  her 
relief.  Having  confidence  in  the  girl,  Holmes  for- 
got his  caution  and  followed  her  out  of  the  fort. 
Pitched  at  the  edge  of  a  meadow,  hidden  from  view 
by  an  intervening  spur  of  the  woodland,  stood  a 
great  number  of  Indian  wigwams.  When  Holmes 
came  in  sight  of  them,  his  treacherous  conductress 
pointed  out  that  in  which  the  sick  woman  lay.  He 
walked  on  without  suspicion  ;  but,  as  he  drew  near, 
two  guns  flashed  from  behind  the  hut,  and  stretched 
him  lifeless  on  the  grass.  The  shots  were  heard  at 
the  fort,  and  the  sergeant  rashly  went  out  to  learn 
the  reason  of  the  firing.  He  was  immediately  taken 
prisoner,  amid  exulting  yells  and  whoopings.  The 
soldiers  in  the  fort  climbed  upon  the  palisades,  to 
look  out,  when  Godefroy,  a  Canadian,  and  two  other 
white  men,  made  their  appearance,  and  summoned 
them  to  surrender ;  promising  that,  if  they  did  so, 
their  lives  should  be  spared,  but  that  otherwise  they 
would  all  be  killed  without  mercy.  The  men,  being 
in  great  terror,  and  without  a  leader,  soon  threw  open 
the  gate,  and  gave  themselves  up  as  prisoners.^ 

1  Loss  of  the  Posts,  MS.     Compare  Diary  of  the  Siege,  22,  26. 

It  appears  by  a  deposition  taken  at  Detroit  on  the  lltli  June,  that 
Godefroy,  mentioned  above,  left  Detroit  with  four  other  Canadians  three 
or  four  days  after  the  siege  began.  Their  professed  object  was  to  bring 
a  French  officer  from  the  Illinois  to  induce  Pontiac  to  abandon  his  hostile 


1763,  June.]  FORT  PRESQU'  ISLE.  279 

Had  detachments  of  Rogers's  Eangers  garrisoned 
these  posts,  or  had  they  been  held  by  such  men  as 
the  Eocky  Mountain  trappers  of  the  present  day, 
wary,  skilful,  and  almost  ignorant  of  fear,  some  of 
them  might,  perhaps,  have  been  saved ;  but  the 
soldiers  of  the  60th  Eegiment,  though  many  of 
them  were  of  provincial  birth,  were  not  suited  by 
habits  and  discipline  for  this  kind  of  service. 

The  loss  of  Presqu  Isle  will  close  this  catalogue 
of  calamity.  Rumors  of  it  first  reached  Detroit  on 
the  twentieth  of  June,  and,  two  days  after,  the  gar- 
rison heard  those  dismal  cries  announcing  scalps 
and  prisoners,  which,  of  late,  had  grown  mourn- 
fully familiar  to  their  ears.  Indians  were  seen  pass- 
ing in  numbers  along  the  opposite  bank  of  the  river, 
leading  several  English  prisoners,  who  proved  to  be 
Ensign  Christie,  the  commanding  officer  at  Presqu' 
Isle,  with  those  of  his  soldiers  who  survived. 

On  the  third  of  June,  Christie,  then  safely 
ensconced  in  the  fort  which  he  commanded,  had 
written  as  follows  to  his  superior  officer.  Lieutenant 
Gordon,  at  Venango :  "  This  morning  Lieutenant 
Cuyler  of  Queen's  Company  of  Rangers  came  here, 
and  gave  me  the  following  melancholy  account  of 
his  whole  party  being  cut  off  by  a  large  body  of 
Indians  at  the  mouth  of  the  Detroit  River."  Here 
follows  the  story  of  Cuyler's  disaster,  and  Christie 

designs.  At  the  mouth  of  the  Mauraee  they  met  John  Welsh,  an  English 
trader,  with  two  canoes,  bound  for  Detroit.  They  seized  him,  and  divided 
his  furs  among  themselves  and  a  party  of  Indians  who  were  with  them. 
They  then  proceeded  to  Fort  Miami,  and  aided  the  Indians  to  capture  it. 
Welsh  was  afterwards  carried  to  Detroit,  where  the  Ottawas  murdered 
him. 


280  FATE  OF  THE  FOREST  GARRISONS.     [1763,  June. 

closes  as  follows  :  "I  have  sent  to  Niagara  a  let- 
ter to  the  Major,  desh*ing  some  more  ammunition 
and  provisions,  and  have  kept  six  men  of  Lieu- 
tenant Cuyler's,  as  I  expect  a  visit  from  the  hell- 
hounds. I  have  ordered  everybody  here  to  move 
into  the  blockhouse,  and  shall  be  ready  for  them, 
come  when  they  will." 

Fort  Presqu'  Isle  stood  on  the  southern  shore 
of  Lake  Erie,  at  the  site  of  the  present  town  of 
Erie.  It  was  an  important  post  to  be  commanded 
by  an  Ensign,  for  it  controlled  the  communication 
between  the  lake  and  Fort  Pitt;  but  the  block- 
house, to  which  Christie  alludes,  Avas  supposed  to 
make  it  impregnable  against  Indians.  This  block- 
house, a  very  large  and  strong  one,  stood  at  an 
angle  of  the  fort,  and  was  built  of  massive  logs, 
with  the  projecting  upper  story  usual  in  such  struct- 
ures, by  means  of  which  a  vertical  fire  could  be 
had  upon  the  heads  of  assailants,  through  openings 
in  the  projecting  part  of  the  floor,  like  the  maehi- 
coulis  of  a  mediaeval  castle.  It  had  also  a  kind  of 
bastion,  from  which  one  or  more  of  its  walls  could 
be  covered  by  a  flank  fire.  The  roof  was  of  shin- 
gles, and  might  easily  be  set  on  fire ;  but  at  the 
top  was  a  sentry-box  or  look-out,  from  which  water 
could  be  thrown.  On  one  side  was  the  lake,  and 
on  the  other  a  small  stream  which  entered  it. 
Unfortunately,  the  bank  of  this  stream  rose  in  a 
high  steep  ridge  within  forty  yards  of  the  block- 
house, thus  afl"ording  a  cover  to  assailants,  while 
the  bank  of  the  lake  offered  them  similar  advan- 
tages on  another  side. 


1763,  June.]  FORT  TRESQU'  ISLE.  281 

After  his  visit  from  Cuyler,  Christie,  whose  gar- 
rison now  consisted  of  twenty-seven  men,  pre- 
pared for  a  stubborn  defence.  The  doors  of  the 
block-house,  and  the  sentry-box  at  the  top,  were 
lined  to  make  them  bullet-proof;  the  angles  of 
the  roof  were  covered  with  green  turf  as  a  pro- 
tection against  fire-arrows,  and  gutters  of  bark 
were  laid  in  such  a  manner  that  streams  of  water 
could  be  sent  to  every  part.  His  expectation  of  a 
"  visit  from  the  hell-hounds  "  proved  to  be  perfectly 
well  founded.  About  two  hundred  of  them  had 
left  Detroit  expressly  for  this  object.  At  early 
dawn  on  the  fifteenth  of  June,  they  were  first  dis- 
covered stealthily  crossing  the  mouth  of  the  little 
stream,  where  the  bateaux  were  drawn  up,  and 
crawling  under  cover  of  the  banks  of  the  lake  and 
of  the  adjacent  saw-pits.  When  the  sun  rose,  they 
showed  themselves,  and  began  their  customary  yell- 
ing. Christie,  with  a  very  unnecessary  reluctance 
to  begin  the  fray,  ordered  his  men  not  to  fire  till 
the  Indians  had  set  the  example.  The  consequence 
was,  that  they  were  close  to  the  blockhouse  before 
they  received  the  fire  of  the  garrison ;  and  many  of 
them  sprang  into  the  ditch,  whence,  being  well  shel- 
tered, they  fired  at  the  loop-holes,  and  amused  them- 
selves by  throwing  stones  and  handfuls  of  gravel,  or, 
what  was  more  to  the  purpose,  fire-balls  of  pitch. 
Some  got  into  the  fort  and  sheltered  themselves 
behind  the  bakery  and  other  buildings,  whence  they 
kept  up  a  brisk  fire ;  while  others  pulled  down  a 
small  out-house  of  plank,  of  which  they  made  a 
movable  breastwork,  and  approached  under  cover 


282  FATE  OF  THE  FOREST  GARRISONS.     [1763,  June. 

of  it  by  pushing  it  before  them.  At  the  same  time, 
great  numbers  of  them  lay  close  behind  the  ridges 
by  the  stream,  keeping  up  a  rattling  fire  into  every 
loophole,  and  shooting  burning  arrows  against  the 
roof  and  sides  of  the  blockhouse.  Some  were 
extinguished  with  water,  while  many  dropped  out 
harmless  after  burning  a  small  hole.  The  Indians 
now  rolled  logs  to  the  top  of  the  ridges,  where  they 
made  three  strong  breastworks,  from  behind  which 
they  could  discharge  their  shot  and  throw  their 
fireworks  with  greater  effect.  Sometimes  they 
would  try  to  dart  across  the  intervening  space 
and  shelter  themselves  with  their  companions  in 
the  ditch,  but  all  who  attempted  it  were  killed  or 
wounded.  And  now  the  hard-beset  little  garrison 
could  see  them  throwing  up  earth  and  stones  behind 
the  nearest  breastwork.  Their  implacable  foes 
were  undermining  the  blockhouse.  There  was 
little  time  to  reflect  on  this  new  danger;  for 
another,  more  imminent,  soon  threatened  them. 
The  barrels  of  water,  always  kept  in  the  build- 
ing, were  nearly  emptied  in  extinguishing  the 
frequent  fires  ;  and  though  there  was  a  well  close 
at  hand,  in  the  parade  ground,  it  was  death  to 
approach  it.  The  only  resource  was  to  dig  a  sub- 
terranean passage  to  it.  The  floor  w^as  torn  up ; 
and  while  some  of  the  men  fired  their  heated 
muskets  from  the  loopholes,  the  rest  labored 
stoutly  at  this  cheerless  task.  Before  it  was  half 
finished,  the  roof  was  on  fire  again,  and  all  the 
water  that  remained  was  poured  down  to  extin- 
guish it.     In  a  few  moments,  the  cry  of  fire  was 


1763,  June.]  A  NIGHT   OF  ANXIETY.  283 

again  raised,  when  a  soldier,  at  imminent  risk  of 
his  life,  tore  off  the  burning  shingles  and  averted 
the  danger. 

By  this  time  it  was  evening.  The  garrison  had 
had  not  a  moment's  rest  since  the  sun  rose.  Dark- 
ness brought  little  relief,  for  guns  flashed  all  night 
from  the  Indian  intrenchments.  In  the  morning, 
however,  there  was  a  respite.  The  Indians  were 
ominously  quiet,  being  employed,  it  seems,  in  push- 
ing their  subterranean  approaches,  and  preparing 
fresh  means  for  firing  the  blockhouse.  In  the 
afternoon  the  attack  began  again.  They  set  fire 
to  the  house  of  the  commanding  officer,  which  stood 
close  at  hand,  and  which  they  had  reached  by  means 
of  their  trenches.  The  pine  logs  blazed  fiercely, 
and  the  wind  blew  the  flame  against  the  bastion  of 
the  blockhouse,  which  scorched,  blackened,  and  at 
last  took  fire ;  but  the  garrison  had  by  this  time 
dug  a  passage  to  the  well,  and,  half  stifled  as  they 
were,  they  plied  their  water-buckets  with  such  good 
will  that  the  fire  was  subdued,  while  the  blazing 
house  soon  sank  to  a  glowing  pile  of  embers.  The 
men,  who  had  behaved  throughout  with  great  spirit, 
were  now,  in  the  words  of  their  officer,  "  exhausted 
to  the  greatest  extremity ; "  yet  they  still  kept  up 
their  forlorn  defence,  toiling  and  fighting  without 
pause  within  the  wooden  walls  of  their  dim  prison, 
where  the  close  and  heated  air  was  thick  with  the 
smoke  of  gunpowder.  The  firing  on  both  sides 
lasted  through  the  rest  of  the  day,  and  did  not  cease 
till  midnight,  at  which  hour  a  voice  was  heard  to 
call  out,  in  French,  from  the  enemy's  intrenchments, 


284  FATE  OF  THE  FOREST  GARRISONS.    [1763,  June. 

warning  the  garrison  that  farther  resistance  would 
be  useless,  since  preparations  were  made  for  setting 
the  blockhouse  on  fire,  above  and  below  at  once. 
Christie  demanded  if  there  were  any  among  them 
who  spoke  English  ;  upon  which,  a  man  in  the 
Indian  dress  came  out  from  behind  the  breastwork. 
He  was  a  soldier,  who,  having  been  made  pris- 
oner early  in  the  French  war,  had  since  lived 
among  the  savages,  and  now  espoused  their  cause, 
fighting  with  them  against  his  own  countrymen. 
He  said  that  if  they  yielded,  their  lives  should  be 
spared ;  but  if  they  fought  longer,  they  must  all  be 
burnt  alive.  Christie  told  them  to  wait  till  morn- 
ing for  his  answer.  They  assented,  and  suspended 
their  fire.  Christie  now  asked  his  men,  if  we  may 
believe  the  testimony  of  two  of  them,  "  whether 
they  chose  to  give  up  the  blockhouse,  or  remain 
in  it  and  be  burnt  alive  ?  "  They  replied  that  they 
would  stay  as  long  as  they  could  bear  the  heat,  and 
then  fight  their  way  through.^  A  third  witness, 
Edward  Smyth,  apparently  a  corporal,  testifies  that 
all  but  two  of  them  were  for  holding  out.  He  says 
that  when  his  opinion  was  asked,  he  replied  that, 
having  but  one  life  to  lose,  he  would  be  governed 
by  the  rest ;  but  that  at  the  same  time  he  reminded 
them  of  the  recent  treachery  at  Detroit,  and  of  the 
butchery  at  Fort  William  Henry,  adding  that,  in  his 
belief,  they  themselves  could  expect  no  better  usage. 

1  Evidence  of  Benjamin  Gray,  soldier  in  the  Ist  Battalion  of  the  60/A  Regi- 
ment, before  a  Court  of  Inquiry  held  at  Fort  Pitt,  12th  Sept.  1763.  Evidence 
of  David  Smart,  soldier  in  the  QOth  Regiment,  before  a  Court  of  Inquiry  held  at 
Fort  Pitt,  2ith  Dec,  1763,  to  take  evidence  relative  to  the  loss  of  Presqu'  Isle 
which  did  not  appear  when  the  last  court  sat. 


1763,  June.]     SURKENDEK  OF  THE  BLOCKHOUSE.  285 

When  morning  came,  Christie  sent  out  two  sol- 
diers as  if  to  treat  with  the  enemy,  but,  in  reality, 
as  he  says,  to  learn  the  truth  of  what  they  had 
told  him  respecting  their  preparations  to  burn 
the  blockhouse.  On  reaching  the  breastwork,  the 
soldiers  made  a  signal,  by  which  their  officer  saw 
that  his  worst  fears  were  well  founded.  In  pur- 
suance of  their  orders,  they  then  demanded  that 
two  of  the  principal  chiefs  should  meet  with 
Christie  midway  between  the  breastwork  and  the 
blockhouse.  The  chiefs  appeared  accordingly  ;  and 
Christie,  going  out,  yielded  up  the  blockhouse  ;  hav- 
ing first  stipulated  that  the  lives  of  all  the  garrison 
should  be  spared,  and  that  they  might  retire  unmo- 
lested to  the  nearest  post.  The  soldiers,  pale  and 
haggard,  like  men  who  had  passed  through  a  fiery 
ordeal,  now  issued  from  their  scorched  and  bullet- 
pierced  stronghold.  A  scene  of  plunder  instantly 
began.  Benjamin  Gray,  a  Scotch  soldier,  who  had 
just  been  employed,  on  Christie's  order,  in  carrying 
presents  to  the  Indians,  seeing  the  confusion,  and 
hearing  a  scream  from  a  sergeant's  wife,  the  only 
woman  in  the  garrison,  sprang  off  into  the  woods 
and  succeeded  in  making  his  way  to  Fort  Pitt  with 
news  of  the  disaster.  It  is  needless  to  say  that  no 
faith  was  kept  with  the  rest,  and  they  had  good  cause 
to  be  thankful  that  they  were  not  butchered  on  the 
spot.  After  being  detained  for  some  time  in  the 
neighborhood,  they  were  carried  prisoners  to  De- 
troit, where  Christie  soon  after  made  his  escape, 
and  gained  the  fort  in  safety.^ 

1  Loss  of  the  Posts,  MS.  Pontiac  MS.  Report  of  Ensign  Christie,  MS. 
Testimony  of  Edward  Smyth,  MS.    This  last  evidence  was  taken  by  order 


286  FATE  OF  THE  FOREST  GARRISONS.     [1763,  June. 

After  Presqu'  Isle  was  taken,  the  neighboring 
posts  of  Le  Boeuf  and  Venango  shared  its  fate  ; 
while  farther  southward,  at  the  forks  of  the  Ohio, 
a  host  of  Delaware  and  Shawanoe  warriors  were 
gathering  around  Fort  Pitt,  and  blood  and  havoc 
reigned  along  the  whole  frontier. 

of  Colonel  Bouquet,  commanding  the  battalion  of  the  Royal  American 
Regiment  to  which  Christie  belonged.  Christie's  surrender  had  been 
thought  censurable  both  by  General  Amherst  and  by  Bouquet.  Accord- 
ing to  Christie's  statements,  it  was  unavoidable  ;  but  according  to  those 
of  Smyth,  and  also  of  the  two  soldiers.  Gray  and  Smart,  the  situation, 
though  extremely  critical,  seems  not  to  have  been  desperate.  Smyth's 
testimony  bears  date  30  March,  1765,  nearly  two  years  after  the  event. 
Some  allowance  is  therefore  to  be  made  for  lapses  of  memory.  He  places 
the  beginning  of  the  attack  on  the  twenty-first  of  June,  instead  of  the 
fifteenth,  —  an  evident  mistake.  The  Diary  of  the  Siege  of  Detroit  says 
that  Christie  did  not  make  his  escape,  but  was  brought  in  and  surrendered 
by  six  Huron  chiefs  on  the  ninth  of  July.  In  a  letter  of  Bouquet  dated 
June  18th,  1760,  is  enclosed  a  small  plan  of  Presqu'  Isle. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

1763. 
THE  INDIANS   CONTINUE  TO  BLOCKADE  DETROIT. 

We  return  once  more  to  Detroit  and  its  belea- 
guered garrison.     On  the  nineteenth  of  June,  a 
rumor  reached  them  that  one  of  the  vessels  had 
been  seen  near  Turkey  Island,  some  miles  below 
the  fort,  but  that,  the  wind  failing  her,  she  had 
dropped   down   with  the  current,  to  wait  a  more 
favorable   opportunity.      It   may   be   remembered 
that  this  vessel  had,  several  weeks  before,  gone 
down  Lake  Erie  to  hasten  the  advance  of  Cuyler's 
expected  detachment.     Passing  these  troops  on  her 
way,  she  had  held  her  course  to  Niagara ;  and  here 
she  had  remained  until  the  return  of  Cuyler,  with 
the  remnant  of  his  men,  made  known  the  catas- 
trophe that  had  befallen  him.     This  officer,  and 
the  survivors  of  his  party,  with  a  few  other  troops 
spared  from  the  garrison  of  Niagara,  were  ordered 
to  embark  in  her,  and  make  the  best  of  their  way 
back  to  Detroit.     They  had  done  so,  and  now,  as 
we  have  seen,  were  almost  within  sight  of  the  fort ; 
but  the  critical  part  of  the  undertaking  yet  re- 
mained.    The   river  channel  was  in  some  places 


288  BLOCKADE   OF  DETROIT.  [1763,  June. 

narrow,  and  more  than  eight  hundred  Indians  were 
on  the  alert  to  intercept  their  passage. 

For  several  days,  the  officers  at  Detroit  heard 
nothing  farther  of  the  vessel,  when,  on  the  twenty- 
third,  a  great  commotion  was  visible  among  the 
Indians,  large  parties  of  whom  were  seen  to  pass 
along  the  outskirts  of  the  woods,  behind  the  fort. 
The  cause  of  these  movements  was  unknown  till 
evening,  when  M.  Baby  came  in  with  intelligence 
that  the  vessel  was  again  attempting  to  ascend  the 
river,  and  that  all  the  Indians  had  gone  to  attack 
her.  Upon  this,  two  cannon  were  fired,  that  those 
on  board  might  know  that  the  fort  still  held  out. 
This  done,  all  remained  in  much  anxiety  awaiting 
the  result. 

The  schooner,  late  that  afternoon,  began  to  move 
slowly  upward,  with  a  gentle  breeze,  between  the 
main  shore  and  the  long-extended  margin  of  Fight- 
ing Island.  About  sixty  men  were  crowded  on 
board,  of  whom  only  ten  or  twelve  were  visible  on 
deck  ;  the  officer  having  ordered  the  rest  to  lie  hid- 
den below,  in  hope  that  the  Indians,  encouraged  by 
this  apparent  weakness,  might  make  an  open  attack. 
Just  before  reaching  the  narrowest  part  of  the 
channel,  the  wind  died  away,  and  the  anchor  was 
dropped.  Immediately  above,  and  within  gunshot 
of  the  vessel,  the  Indians  had  made  a  breastwork 
of  logs,  carefully  concealed  by  bushes,  on  the 
shore  of  Turkey  Island.  Here  they  lay  in  force, 
waiting  for  the  schooner  to  pass.  Ignorant  of  this, 
but  still  cautious  and  wary,  the  crew  kept  a  strict 
watch  from  the  moment  the  sun  went  down. 


1763,  June.]         ATTACK  ON  THE   SCHOONER.  289 

Hours  wore  on,  and  nothing  had  broken  the 
deep  repose  of  the  night.  The  current  gurgled 
with  a  monotonous  sound  around  the  bows  of  the 
schooner,  and  on  either  hand  the  wooded  shores 
lay  amid  the  obscurity,  black  and  silent  as  the 
grave.  At  length,  the  sentinel  could  discern,  in 
the  distance,  various  moving  objects  upon  the  dark 
surface  of  the  water.  The  men  were  ordered  up 
from  below,  and  all  took  their  posts  in  perfect 
silence.  The  blow  of  a  hammer  on  the  mast  was 
to  be  the  signal  to  fire.  The  Indians,  gliding 
stealthily  over  the  water  in  their  birch  canoes, 
had,  by  this  time,  approached  within  a  few  rods 
of  their  fancied  prize,  when  suddenly  the  dark  side 
of  the  slumbering  vessel  burst  into  a  blaze  of  can- 
non and  musketry,  which  illumined  the  night  like 
a  flash  of  lightning.  Grape  and  musket  shot 
flew  tearing  among  the  canoes,  destroying  several 
of  them,  killing  fourteen  Indians,  wounding  as 
many  more,  and  driving  the  rest  in  consternation 
to  the  shore. ^  Recovering  from  their  surprise,  they 
began  to  fire  upon  the  vessel  from  behind  their 
breastwork  ;  upon  which  she  weighed  anchor,  and 
dropped  down  once  more  beyond  their  reach,  into 
the  broad  river  below.  Several  days  afterwards, 
she  again  attempted  to  ascend.  This  time,  she  met 
with  better  success ;  for,  though  the  Indians  fired 
at  her  constantly  from  the  shore,  no  man  was  hurt, 
and  at  length  she  left  behind  her  the  perilous  chan- 
nels of  the  Islands.  As  she  passed  the  Wyandot 
village,  she  sent  a  shower  of  grape  among  its  yelp- 

1  Pontiac  MS. 
19 


290  BLOCKADE   OF  DETEOIT.  [1763,  June. 

iiig  inhabitants,  by  which  several  were  killed ;  and 
then,  furling  her  sails,  lay  peacefully  at  anchor  by 
the  side  of  her  companion  vessel,  abreast  of  the 
fort. 

The  schooner  brought  to  the  garrison  a  much- 
needed  supply  of  men,  ammunition,  and  provisions. 
She  brought,  also,  the  important  tidings  that  peace 
was  at  length  concluded  between  France  and  Eng- 
land. The  bloody  and  momentous  struggle  of  the 
French  war,  which  had  shaken  North  America 
since  the  year  1755,  had  indeed  been  virtually 
closed  by  the  victory  on  the  Plains  of  Abraham, 
and  the  junction  of  the  three  British  armies  at 
Montreal.  Yet  up  to  this  time,  its  embers  had 
continued  to  burn,  till  at  length  peace  was  com- 
pletely established  by  formal  treaty  between  the 
hostile  powers.  France  resigned  her  ambitious 
project  of  empire  in  America,  and  ceded  Canada 
and .  the  region  of  the  lakes  to  her  successful  rival. 
By  this  treaty,  the  Canadians  of  Detroit  were  placed 
in  a  new  position.  Hitherto  they  had  been,  as  it 
were,  prisoners  on  capitulation,  neutral  spectators 
of  the  quarrel  between  their  British  conquerors 
and  the  Indians ;  but  now  their  allegiance  was 
transferred  from  the  crown  of  France  to  that  of 
Britain,  and  they  were  subjects  of  the  English 
king.  To  many  of  them  the  change  was  extremely 
odious,  for  they  cordially  hated  the  British.  They 
went  about  among  the  settlers  and  the  Indians, 
declaring  that  the  pretended  news  of  peace  was 
only  an  invention  of  Major  Gladwyn  ;  that  the  king 
of  France  would  never  abandon  his  children ;  and 


1763,  July.]  FINAL   EFFORT   OF  PONTIAC.  291 

that  a  great  French  army  was  even  then  ascending 
the  St.  Lawrence,  while  another  was  approaching 
from  the  country  of  the  Illinois.^  This  oft-repeated 
falsehood  was  implicitly  believed  by  the  Indians, 
who  continued  firm  in  the  faith  that  their  Great 
Father  was  about  to  awake  from  his  sleep,  and 
wreak  his  vengeance  upon  the  insolent  English, 
who  had  intruded  on  his  domain. 

Pontiac  himself  clung  fast  to  this  delusive  hope ; 
yet  he  was  greatly  vexed  at  the  safe  arrival  of  the 
vessel,  and  the  assistance  she  had  brought  to  the 
obstinate  defenders  of  Detroit.  He  exerted  him- 
self with  fresh  zeal  to  gain  possession  of  the  place, 
and  attempted  to  terrify  Gladwyn  into  submission. 
He  sent  a  message,  in  which  he  strongly  urged  him 
to  surrender,  adding,  by  way  of  stimulus,  that  eight 
hundred  more  Ojibwas  were  every  day  expected, 
and  that,  on  their  arrival,  all  his  influence  could 
not  prevent  them  from  taking  the  scalp  of  every 
Englishman  in  the  fort.  To  this  friendly  advice 
Gladwyn  returned  a  brief  and  contemptuous  an- 
swer. 

Pontiac,  having  long  been  anxious  to  gain  the 
Canadians  as  auxiliaries  in  the  war,  now  deter- 
mined on  a  final  effort  to  effect  his  object.  For 
this  purpose,  he  sent  messages  to  the  principal 
inhabitants,  inviting  them  to  meet  him  in  council. 
In  the  Ottawa  camp,  there  was  a  vacant  spot,  quite 
level,  and  encircled  by  the  huts  of  the  Indians. 
Here  mats  were  spread  for  the  reception  of  the 
deputies,  who  soon  convened,  and  took  their  seats 

1  MS.  Letter —  Gladwyn  to  Amherst,  July  8. 


292  BLOCKADE   OF  DETROIT.  [1763,  July. 

in  a  wide  ring.  One  part  was  occupied  by  the 
Canadians,  among  whom  were  several  whose  with- 
ered, leathery  features  proclaimed  them  the  patri- 
archs of  the  secluded  little  settlement.  Opposite 
these  sat  the  stern-visaged  Pontiac,  with  his  chiefs 
on  either  hand,  while  the  intervening  portions  of 
the  circle  were  filled  by  Canadians  and  Indians 
promiscuously  mingled.  Standing  on  the  outside, 
and  looking  over  the  heads  of  this  more  dignified 
assemblage,  was  a  motley  throng  of  Indians  and 
Canadians,  half  breeds,  trappers,  and  voyageurs, 
in  wild  and  picturesque,  though  very  dirty  attire, 
Conspicuous  among  them  were  numerous  Indian 
dandies,  a  large  class  in  every  aboriginal  com- 
munity, where  they  hold  about  the  same  relative 
position  as  do  their  counterparts  in  civilized  society. 
They  were  wrapped  in  the  gayest  blankets,  their 
necks  adorned  with  beads,  their  cheeks  daubed  with 
vermilion,  and  their  ears  hung  with  pendants.  They 
stood  sedately  looking  on,  with  evident  self-compla- 
cency, yet  ashamed  and  afraid  to  take  their  places 
among  the  aged  chiefs  and  warriors  of  repute. 

All  was  silent,  and  several  pipes  were  passing 
round  from  hand  to  hand,  when  Pontiac  rose,  and 
threw  down  a  war-belt  at  the  feet  of  the  Canadians. 

"  My  brothers,"  he  said,  "  how  long  will  you  suf- 
fer this  bad  flesh  to  remain  upon  your  lands  ?  I 
have  told  you  before,  and  I  now  tell  you  again, 
that  when  I  took  up  the  hatchet,  it  was  for  your 
good.  This  year  the  English  must  all  perish 
throughout  Canada.  The  Master  of  Life  com- 
mands   it ;   and   you,  who    know  him  better  than 


1763,  July.]  SPEECH   OF  PONTIAC.  293 

we,  wish  to  oppose  his  will.  Until  now  I  have 
said  nothing  on  this  matter.  I  have  not  urged  you 
to  take  part  with  us  in  the  war.  It  would  have 
been  enough  had  you  been  content  to  sit  quiet  on 
your  mats,  looking  on,  while  we  were  fighting  for 
you.  But  you  have  not  done  so.  You  call  your- 
selves our  friends,  and  yet  you  assist  the  English 
with  provisions,  and  go  about  as  spies  among  our 
villages.  This  must  not  continue.  You  must  be 
either  wholly  French  or  wholly  English.  If  you 
are  French,  take  up  that  war-belt,  and  lift  the 
hatchet  with  us ;  but  if  you  are  English,  then  we 
declare  war  upon  you.  My  brothers,  1  know  this 
is  a  hard  thing.  We  are  all  alike  children  of  our 
Great  Father  the  King  of  France,  and  it  is  hard  to 
fight  among  brethren  for  the  sake  of  dogs.  But 
there  is  no  choice.  Look  upon  the  belt,  and  let  us 
hear  your  answer."  ^ 

One  of  the  Canadians,  having  suspected  the  pur- 
pose of  Pontiac,  had  brought  with  him,  not  the 
treaty  of  peace,  but  a  copy  of  the  capitulation  of 
Montreal  with  its  dependencies,  including  Detroit. 
Pride,  or  some  other  motive,  restrained  him  from 
confessing  that  the  Canadians  were  no  longer  chil- 
dren of  the  King  of  France,  and  he  determined  to 
keep  up  the  old  delusion  that  a  French  army  was 
on  its  way  to  win  back  Canada,  and  chastise  the 
English  invaders.  He  began  his  speech  in  reply 
to  Pontiac  by  professing  great  love  for  the  Indians, 
and  a  strong  desire  to  aid  them  in  the  war.  "  But, 
my  brothers,"  he  added,  holding  out  the  articles  of 

1  Po7itiacM.S. 


294  BLOCKADE   OF  DETROIT.  [1763,  July. 

capitulation,  "  you  must  first  untie  the  knot  with 
which  our  Great  Father,  the  King,  has  bound  us. 
In  this  paper,  he  tells  all  his  Canadian  children  to 
sit  quiet  and  obey  the  English  until  he  comes, 
because  he  wishes  to  punish  his  enemies  himself. 
We  dare  not  disobey  him,  for  he  would  then  be 
angry  with  us.  And  you,  my  brothers,  who  speak 
of  making  war  upon  us  if  we  do  not  do  as  you 
wish,  do  you  think  you  could  escape  his  wrath,  if 
you  should  raise  the  hatchet  against  his  French 
children?  He  would  treat  you  as  enemies,  and 
not  as  friends,  and  you  would  have  to  fight  both 
English  and  French  at  once.  Tell  us,  my  brothers, 
what  can  you  reply  to  this  ? " 

Pontiac  for  a  moment  sat  silent,  mortified,  and 
perplexed ;  but  his  purpose  was  not  destined  to  be 
wholly  defeated.  "  Among  the  French,"  says  the 
writer  of  the  diary,  "  were  many  infamous  charac- 
ters, who,  having  no  property,  cared  nothing  what 
became  of  them."  Those  mentioned  in  these  oppro- 
brious terms  were  a  collection  of  trappers,  voya- 
geurs,  and  nondescript  vagabonds  of  the  forest, 
who  were  seated  with  the  council,  or  stood  look- 
ing on,  variously  attired  in  greasy  shirts,  Indian 
leggins,  and  red  woollen  caps.  Not  a  few  among 
them,  however,  had  thought  proper  to  adopt  the 
style  of  dress  and  ornament  peculiar  to  the  red 
men,  who  were  their  usual  associates,  and  ap- 
peared among  their  comrades  witii  paint  rubbed 
on  their  cheeks,  and  feathers  dangling  from  their 
hair.  Indeed,  they  aimed  to  identify  themselves 
with  the  Indians,  a  transformation  by  which  they 


1763,  June.]  RENEGADE  WHITES.  295 

gciined  nothing ;  for  these  renegade  whites  were 
held  in  Hght  esteem,  both  by  those  of  their  own 
color  and  the  savages  themselves.  They  were  for 
the  most  part  a  light  and  frivolous  crew,  little  to 
be  relied  on  for  energy  or  stabihty  ;  though  among 
them  were  men  of  hard  and  ruffian  features,  the 
ringleaders  and  bulHes  of  the  voyageurs,  and  even 
a  terror  to  the  Bourgeois  ^  himself.  It  was  one  of 
these  who  now  took  up  the  war  belt,  and  declared 


1  This  name  is  always  applied,  among  the  Canadians  of  the  North- 
west, to  the  conductor  of  a  trading  party,  the  commander  in  a  trading 
fort,  or,  indeed,  to  any  person  in  a  position  of  authority. 

Extract  from  a  Letter  —  Detroit,  July  9,  1763  [Penn.  Gaz.  No.  1808). 

"  Judge  of  the  Conduct  of  tlie  Canadians  here,  by  the  Behaviour  of 
these  few  Sacres  Bougres,  I  have  mentioned ;  I  can  assure  you,  with 
much  Certainty,  that  there  are  but  very  few  in  the  Settlement  who  are 
not  engaged  with  the  Indians  in  their  damn'd  Design  ;  in  short,  Monsieur 
is  at  the  Bottom  of  it ;  we  have  not  only  convincing  Proofs  and  Circum- 
stances, but  undeniable  Proofs  of  it.  There  are  four  or  live  sensible,  hon- 
est Frenchmen  in  tlie  Place,  who  have  been  of  a  great  deal  of  Service  to 
us*  in  bringing  us  Intelligence  and  Provisions,  even  at  the  Risque  of  their 
own  Lives ;  I  hope  they  will  be  rewarded  for  their  good  Services  ;  I  hope 
also  to  see  the  others  exalted  on  High,  to  reap  the  Fruits  of  their  Labours, 
as  soon  as  our  Army  arrives ;  the  Discoveries  we  have  made  of  their 
horrid  villianies,  are  almost  incredible.  But  to  return  to  the  Terms  of 
Capitulation  :  Pondiac  proposes  that  we  should  immediately  give  up  the 
Garrison,  lay  down  our  Arms,  as  the  French,  their  Fathers,  were  obliged 
to  do,  leave  the  Cannon,  Magazines,  Merchanjts'  Goods,  and  the  two 
Vessels,  and  be  escorted  in  Battoes,  by  the  Indians,  to  Niagara.  The 
Major  returned  Answer,  that  the  General  had  not  sent  him  there  to 
deliver  up  the  Fort  to  Indians,  or  anybody  else ;  and  that  he  would 
defend  it  whilst  he  had  a  single  man  to  fight  alongside  of  him.  Upon 
this.  Hostilities  recommenced,  since  which  Time,  being  two  months,  the 
whole  Garrison,  Officers,  Soldiers,  Merchants,  and  Servants,  have  been 
upon  the  Ramparts  every  Night,  not  one  having  slept  in  a  House,  except 
the  Sick  and  Wounded  in  the  Hospital. 

"  Our  Fort  is  extremely  large,  considering  our  Numbers,  the  Stockade 
being  above  1000  Paces  in  Circumference ;  judge  what  a  Figure  we  make 
on  the  Works." 

The  writer  of  the  above  letter  is  much  too  sweeping  and  indiscrim- 
inate in  liis  denunciation  of  the  French. 


296  BLOCKADE   OF  DETROIT.  [1763,  June. 

that  he  and  his  comrades  were  ready  to  raise  the 
hatchet  for  Pontiac.  The  better  class  of  Cana- 
dians were  shocked  at  this  proceeding,  and  vainly 
protested  against  it.  Pontiac,  on  his  part,  was 
much  pleased  at  such  an  accession  to  his  forces, 
and  he  and  his  chiefs  shook  hands,  in  turn,  with 
each  of  their  new  auxiliaries.  The  council  had 
been  protracted  to  a  late  hour.  It  was  dark  before 
the  assembly  dissolved,  "  so  that,"  as  the  chronicler 
observes,  "  these  new  Indians  had  no  opportunity 
of  displaying  their  exploits  that  day."  They  re- 
mained in  the  Indian  camp  all  night,  being  afraid 
of  the  reception  they  might  meet  among  their 
fellow- whites  in  the  settlement.  The  whole  of 
the  follow^ing  morning  was  employed  in  giving  them 
a  feast  of  welcome.  For  this  entertainment  a  large 
number  of  dogs  were  killed,  and  served  up  to  the 
guests  ;  none  of  whom,  according  to  the  Indian 
custom  on  such  formal  occasions,  were  permitted 
to  take  their  leave  until  they  had  eaten  the  whole 
of  the  enormous  portion  placed  before  theai. 

Pontiac  derived  little  advantage  from  his  Cana- 
dian allies,  most  of  whom,  fearing  the  resentment 
of  the  English  and  the  other  inhabitants,  fled,  be- 
fore the  war  was  over,  to  the  country  of  the  Illinois.^ 
On  the  night  succeeding  the  feast,  a  party  of  the 
renegades,  joined  by  about  an  equal  number  of 
Indians,  approached  the  fort,  and  intrenched  them- 
selves, in  order  to  fire  upon  the  garrison.  At  day- 
break, they  were  observed,  the  gate  was  thrown 
open,  and  a  file  of  men,  headed  by  Lieutenant  Hay, 

1  Croghan,  Journal.     See  Butler,  Hist.  Kentucky,  463. 


1763,  Jdne.]        death   OF   CAPT.  CAMPBELL.  297 

sallied  to  dislodge  them.  This  was  effected  with- 
out much  difficulty.  The  Canadians  fled  with  such 
despatch,  that  all  of  them  escaped  unhurt,  though 
two  of  the  Indians  were  shot. 

It  happened  that  among  the  English  Avas  a 
soldier  who  had  been  prisoner,  for  several  years, 
among  the  Delawares,  and  who,  while  he  had 
learned  to  hate  the  whole  race,  at  the  same  time 
had  acquired  many  of  their  habits  and  practices. 
He  now  ran  forward,  and,  kneeling  on  the  body  of 
one  of  the  dead  savages,  tore  away  the  scalp,  and 
shook  it,  with  an  exultant  cry,  towards  the  fugitives.^ 
This  act,  as  afterwards  appeared,  excited  great  rage 
among  the  Indians. 

Lieutenant  Hay  and  his  party,  after  their  suc- 
cessful sally,  had  retired  to  the  fort ;  when,  at 
about  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  a  man  was  seen 
running  towards  it,  closely  pursued  by  Indians. 
Oh  his  arriving  within  gunshot,  they  gave  over  the 
chase,  and  the  fugitive  came  panting  beneath  the 
stockade,  where  a  wicket  was  flung  open  to  receive 
him.  He  proved  to  be  the  commandant  of  San- 
dusky, who,  having,  as  before  mentioned,  been 
adopted  by  the  Indians,  and  married  to  an  old 
squaw,  now  seized  the  first  opportunity  of  escap- 
ing from  her  embraces. 

Through  him,  the  garrison  learned  the  unhappy 
tidings  that  Captain  Campbell  was  killed.  This 
gentleman,  from  his  high  personal  character,  no 
less  than  his  merit  as  an  officer,  was  held  in 
general    esteem  ;    and    his    fate   excited  a  feeling 

1  Pontiac  MS. 


298  BLOCKADE  OF  DETROIT.  [1763,  June. 

of  anger  and  grief  among  all  the  English  in 
Detroit.  It  appeared  that  the  Indian  killed  and 
scalped,  in  the  skirmish  of  that  morning,  was 
nephew  to  Wasson,  chief  of  the  Ojibwas.  On 
hearing  of  his  death,  the  enraged  uncle  had  im- 
mediately blackened  his  face  in  sign  of  revenge, 
called  together  a  party  of  his  followers,  and  repair- 
ing to  the  house  of  Meloche,  where  Captain  Camp- 
bell was  kept  prisoner,  had  seized  upon  him,  and 
bound  him  fast  to  a  neighboring  fence,  where  they 
shot  him  to  death  w^itli  arrows.  Others  say  that 
they  tomahawked  him  on  the  spot ;  but  all  agree 
that  his  bodv  was  mutilated  in  a  barbarous  manner. 
His  heart  is  said  to  have  been  eaten  by  his  mur- 
derers, to  make  them  courageous  ;  a  practice  not 
uncommon  among  Indians,  after  killing  an  enemy 
of  acknowledged  bravery.  The  corpse  was  thrown 
into  the  river,  and  afterwards  brought  to  shore  and 
buried  by  the  Canadians.  According  to  one  author- 
ity, Pontiac  was  privy  to  this  act ;  but  a  second, 
equally  credible,  represents  him  as  ignorant  of  it, 
and  declares  that  Wasson  fled  to  Saginaw  to  escape 
his  fury ;  while  a  third  affirms  that  the  Ojibwas 
carried  off  Campbell  by  force  from  before  the  eyes 
of  the  great  chief.^  The  other  captive,  M'Dougal, 
had  previously  escaped. 


1   Goain's  Account,  MS.     St.  Atibin's  Account,  MS.     Diary  of  the  Siege. 

James  MacDonald  writes  from  Deti'oit  on  the  12th  of  July.  "  Half  an 
hour  afterward  the  savages  carried  (the  body  of)  the  man  they  had  lost 
before  Capt.  Campbell,  stripped  him  naked,  and  directly  murthered  him 
in  a  cruel  manner,  which  indeed  gives  me  pain  beyond  expression,  and  1 
am  sure  cannot  miss  but  to  affect  sensibly  all  his  acquaintances.  Although 
he  is  now  out  of  the  question,  I  must  own  I  never  had,  nor  never  shall 


1763,  July.]  THE  ARMED   SCHOONERS.  299 

The  two  armed  schooners,  anchored  opposite  the 
fort,  were  now  become  objects  of  awe  and  aversion 
to  the  Indians.  This  is  not  to  be  wondered  at,  for, 
besides  aiding  in  the  defence  of  the  place,  by  sweep- 
ing two  sides  of  it  with  their  fire,  they  often  caused 
great  terror  and  annoyance  to  the  besiegers.  Sev- 
eral times  they  had  left  their  anchorage,  and,  taking 
up  a  convenient  position,  had  battered  the  Indian 
camps  and  villages  with  no  little  effect.  Once  in 
particular,  —  and  this  was  the  first  attempt  of  the 
kind,  —  Gladwyn  himself,  with  several  of  his  oflB.- 
cers,  had  embarked  on  board  the  smaller  vessel, 
while  a  fresh  breeze  was  blowing  from  the  north- 
west. The  Indians,  on  the  banks,  stood  watching 
her  as  she  tacked  from  shore  to  shore,  and  pressed 
their  hands  against  their  mouths  in  amazement, 
thinking  that  magic  power  alone  could  enable  her 
thus  to  make  her  way  against  wind  and  current.^ 
Making  a  long  reach  from  the  opposite  shore,  she 
came  on  directly  towards  the  camp  of  Pontiac,  her 
sails  sw^elling,  her  masts  leaning  over  till  the  black 
muzzles  of  her  guns  almost  touched  the  river.  The 
Indians  watched  her  in  astonishment.  On  she 
came,  till  their  fierce  hearts  exulted  in  the  idea 
that  she  would  run  ashore  within  their  clutches, 
when  suddenly  a  shout  of  command  was  heard  on 
board,  her  progress  was  arrested,  she  rose  upright, 
and  her  sails  flapped   and  fluttered  as  if  tearing 

have,  a  Friend  or  Acquaintance  that  I  valued  more  than  he.  My  present 
comfort  is,  that  if  Charity,  benevolence,  innocence,  and  integrity  are  a 
sufficient  dispensation  for  all  mankind,  that  entitles  him  to  happiness  in 
the  world  to  come." 

1  Penn.  Gaz.  No.  1808. 


300  BLOCKADE   OF  DETROIT.  [1763,  July. 

loose  from  their  fastenings.  Steadily  she  came 
round,  broadside  to  the  shore ;  then,  leaning  once 
more  to  the  wind,  bore  away  gallantly  on  the  other 
tack.  She  did  not  go  far.  The  wondering  specta- 
tors, quite  at  a  loss  to  understand  her  movements, 
soon  heard  the  hoarse  rattling  of  her  cable,  as  the 
anchor  dragged  it  out,  and  saw  her  furling  her  vast 
white  wings.  As  they  looked  unsuspectingly  on, 
a  puff  of  smoke  was  emitted  from  her  side ;  a  loud 
report  followed  ;  then  another  and  another ;  and 
the  balls,  rushing  over  their  heads,  flew  through 
the  midst  of  their  camp,  and  tore  wildly  among  the 
forest-trees  beyond.  All  was  terror  and  consterna- 
tion. The  startled  warriors  bounded  away  on  all 
sides  ;  the  squaws  snatched  up  their  children,  and 
fled  screaming  ;  and,  with  a  general  chorus  of  yells, 
the  whole  encampment  scattered  in  such  haste,  that 
little  damage  was  done,  except  knocking  to  pieces 
their  frail  cabins  of  bark.^ 

This  attack  was  followed  by  others  of  a  similar 
kind  ;  and  now  the  Indians  seemed  resolved  to  turn 
all  their  energies  to  the  destruction  of  the  vessel 
which  caused  them  such  annoyance.  On  the  night 
of  the  tenth  of  July,  they  sent  down  a  blazing  raft, 
formed  of  two  boats,  secured  together  with  a  rope, 
and  filled  with  pitch-pine,  birch-bark,  and  other 
combustibles,  which,  by  good  fortune,  missed  the 
vessel,  and  floated  down  the  stream  without  doing 
injury.  All  was  quiet  throughout  the  following 
night ;  but  about  two  o'clock  on  the  morning  of 
the   twelfth,  the   sentinel   on   duty  saw  a  glowing 

1  Pontiac  MS. 


1763,  July.]  THE   RAFT.  301 

spark  of  fire  on  the  surface  of  the  river,  at  some 
distance  above.  It  grew  larger  and  brighter ;  it 
rose  in  a  forked  flame,  and  at  length  burst  forth 
into  a  broad  conflagration.  In  this  instance,  too, 
fortune  favored  the  vessel ;  for  the  raft,  which  was 
larger  than  the  former,  passed  down  between  her 
and  the  fort,  brightly  gilding  her  tracery  of  ropes 
and  spars,  lighting  up  the  old  palisades  and  bastions 
of  Detroit,  disclosing  the  white  Canadian  farms  and 
houses  along  the  shore,  and  revealing  the  dusky 
margin  of  the  forest  behind.  It  showed,  too,  a 
dark  group  of  naked  spectators,  who  stood  on  the 
bank  to  watch  the  effect  of  their  artifice,  when  a 
cannon  flashed,  a  loud  report  broke  the  stillness, 
and  before  the  smoke  of  the  gun  had  risen,  these 
curious  observers  had  vanished.  The  raft  floated 
down,  its  flames  crackling  and  glaring  wide  through 
the  night,  until  it  was  burnt  to  the  water's  edge, 
and  its  last  hissing  embers  were  quenched  in  the 
river. 

Though  twice  defeated,  the  Indians  would  not 
abandon  their  plan,  but,  soon  after  this  second 
failure,  began  another  raft,  of  different  construction 
from  the  former,  and  so  large  that  they  thought  it 
certain  to  take  effect.  Gladwyn,  on  his  part,  pro- 
vided boats  which  were  moored  by  chains  at  some 
distance  above  the  vessels,  and  made  other  prepar- 
ations of  defence,  so  effectual  that  the  Indians,  after 
working  four  days  upon  the  raft,  gave  over  their 
undertaking  as  useless.  About  this  time,  a  party 
of  Shawanoe  and  Delaware  Indians  arrived  at  De- 
troit, and  were  received  by  the  Wyandots  with  a 


302  BLOCKADE   OF  DETROIT.  [1763,  July. 

salute  of  musketry,  which  occasioned  some  alarm 
among  the  English,  who  knew  nothing  of  its  cause. 
They  reported  the  progress  of  the  war  in  the  south 
and  east ;  and,  a  few  days  after,  an  Abenaki,  from 
Lower  Canada,  also  made  his  appearance,  bringing 
to  the  Indians  the  flattering  falsehood  that  their 
Great  Father,  the  King  of  France,  was  at  that 
moment  advancing  up  the  St.  Lawrence  with  his 
army.  It  may  here  be  observed,  that  the  name  of 
Father,  given  to  the  Kings  of  France  and  England, 
was  a  mere  title  of  courtesy  or  policy ;  for,  in  his 
haughty  independence,  the  Indian  yields  submission 
to  no  man. 

It  was  now  between  two  and  three  months  since 
the  siege  began ;  and  if  one  is  disposed  to  think 
slightingly  of  the  warriors  whose  numbers  could 
avail  so  little  against  a  handful  of  half-starved  Eng- 
lish and  provincials,  he  has  only  to  recollect,  that 
where  barbarism  has  been  arrayed  against  civiliza- 
tion, disorder  against  discipline,  and  ungoverned 
fury  against  considerate  valor,  such  has  seldom 
failed  to  be  the  result. 

At  the  siege  of  Detroit,  the  Indians  displayed  a 
high  degree  of  comparative  steadiness  and  perse- 
verance ;  and  their  history  cannot  furnish  another 
instance  of  so  large  a  force  persisting  so  long  in 
the  attack  of  a  fortified  place.  Their  good  con- 
duct may  be  ascribed  to  their  deep  rage  against  the 
EngHsh,  to  their  hope  of  speedy  aid  from  the 
French,  and  to  the  controlling  spirit  of  Pontiac, 
which  held  them  to  their  work.  The  Indian  is 
but  ill  qualified  for  such  attempts,  having  too  much 


1763,  July.]     CHANGING  TEMPER  OF  THE  INDIANS.  803 

caution  for  an  assault  by  storm,  and  too  little  pa- 
tience for  a  blockade.  The  Wyandots  and  Potta- 
wattamies  had  shown,  from  the  beginning,  less  zeal 
than  the  other  nations ;  and  now,  like  children, 
they  began  to  tire  of  the  task  they  had  undertaken. 
A  deputation  of  the  Wyandots  came  to  the  fort, 
and  begged  for  peace,  which  was  granted  them  ; 
but  when  the  Pottawattamies  came  on  the  same 
errand,  they  insisted,  as  a  preliminary,  that  some 
of  their  people,  who  were  detained  prisoners  by 
the  English,  should  first  be  given  up.  Gladwyn 
demanded,  on  his  part,  that  the  English  captives 
known  to  be  in  their  village  should  be  brought  to 
the  fort,  and  three  of  them  were  accordingly  pro- 
duced. As  these  were  but  a  small  part  of  the 
whole,  the  deputies  were  sharply  rebuked  for  their 
duplicity,  and  told  to  go  back  for  the  rest.  They 
withdrew  angry  and  mortified  ;  but,  on  the  follow- 
ing day,  a  fresh  deputation  of  chiefs  made  their 
appearance,  bringing  with  them  six  prisoners. 
Having  repaired  to  the  council-room,  they  were 
met  by  Gladwyn,  attended  only  by  one  or  two 
ofiicers.  The  Indians  detained  in  the  fort  were 
about  to  be  given  up,  and  a  treaty  concluded,  when 
one  of  the  prisoners  declared  that  there  were 
several  others  still  remaining  in  the  Pottawatta- 
mie village.  Upon  this,  the  conference  was  broken 
off,  and  the  deputies  ordered  instantly  to  depart. 
On  being  thus  a  second  time  defeated,  they  were 
goaded  to  such  a  pitch  of  rage,  that,  as  afterwards 
became  known,  they  formed  the  desperate  resolu- 
tion of    killing    Gladwyn   on    the    spot,  and   then 


304  BLOCKADE   OF   DETROIT.  [1763,  July. 

making  their  escape  in  the  best  way  they  could  ; 
but,  happily,  at  that  moment  the  commandant 
observed  an  Ottawa  among  them,  and,  resolving 
to  seize  him,  called  upon  the  guard  without  to 
assist  in  doing  so.  A  file  of  soldiers  entered,  and 
the  chiefs,  seeing  it  impossible  to  execute  their 
design,  withdrew  from  the  fort,  with  black  and 
sullen  brows.  A  day  or  two  afterwards,  however, 
they  returned  with  the  rest  of  the  prisoners,  on 
which  peace  was  granted  them,  and  their  people 
set  at  liberty.^ 


1  Whatever  may  have  been  the  case  with  the  Pottawattaraies,  there 
were  indications  from  the  first  that  the  Wyandots  were  lukewarm  or  even 
reluctant  in  taking  part  with  Pontiac.  As  early  as  May  22,  some  of 
them  complained  that  he  had  forced  them  into  the  war.  Diary  of  the 
Siege.     Johnson  MSS. 


CHAPTEE    XV. 

1763. 
THE  FIGHT   OF  BLOODY  BRIDGE. 

From  the  time  when  peace  was  concluded  with 
the  Wyandots  and  Pottawattamies  until  the  end  of 
July,  little  worthy  of  notice  took  place  at  Detroit. 
The  fort  was  still  watched  closely  by  the  Ottawas 
and  Ojibwas,  who  almost  daily  assailed  it  with 
petty  attacks.  In  the  mean  time,  unknown  to  the 
garrison,  a  strong  re-enforcement  was  coming  to 
their  aid.  Captain  Dalzell  had  left  Niagara  with 
twenty-two  barges,  bearing  two  hundred  and  eighty 
men,  with  several  small  cannon,  and  a  fresh  supply 
of  provisions  and  ammunition.^ 

1  Extract  from  a  MS.  Letter  —  Sir  J.  Amherst  to  Sir  W.  Johnson. 

"  New  York,  16th  June,  1763. 
"  Sir : 

"  I  am  to  thank  you  for  yom*  Letter  of  the  6th  Instant,  which  I  have 
this  moment  Received,  with  some  Advices  from  Niagara,  concerning  the 
Motions  of  the  Indians  that  Way,  they  having  attacked  a  Detachment 
under  the  Command  of  Lieut.  Cuyler  of  Hopkins's  Rangers,  who  were 
on  their  Route  towards  the  Detroit,  and  ObUged  him  to  Return  to  Niagara, 
with  (I  am  sorry  to  say)  too  few  of  his  Men. 

"  Upon  this  IntelUgence,  I  liave  thought  it  Necessary  to  Dispatch 
Captain  Daly  ell,  my  Aid  de  Camp,  with  Orders  to  Carry  with  him  all 
such  Reinforcements  as  can  possibly  be  collected  ("having,  at  the  same 
time,  a  due  Attention  to  the  Safety  of  the  Principal  Forts),  to  Niagara, 
and  to  proceed  to  the  Detroit,  if  Necessary,  and  Judged  Proper." 

20 


306  THE  FIGHT   OF  BLOODY   BRIDGE.     [1763,  July. 

Coasting  the  south  shore  of  Lake  Erie,  they 
soon  reached  Presqu'  Isle,  where  they  found  the 
scorched  and  battered  blockhouse  captured  a  few- 
weeks  before,  and  saw  with  surprise  the  mines 
and  intrenchments  made  by  the  Indians  in  assailing 
it.^  Thence,  proceeding  on  their  voyage,  they 
reached  Sandusky  on  the  twenty-sixth  of  July  ;  and 
here  they  marched  inland  to  the  neighboring  vil- 
lage of  the  Wyandots,  which  they  burnt  to  the 
ground,  at  the  same  time  destroying  the  corn, 
which  this  tribe,  more  provident  than  most  of  the 
others,  had  planted  there  in  the  spring.  Dalzell 
then  steered  northw^ard  for  the  mouth  of  the  De- 
troit, which  he  reached  on  the  evening  of  the 
twenty-eighth,  and  cautiously  ascended  under  cover 
of  night.  "  It  was  fortunate,"  writes  Gladwyn, 
"  that  they  were  not  discovered,  in  which  case 
they  must  have  been  destroyed  or  taken,  as  the 
Indians,  being  emboldened  by  their  late  successes, 
tight  much  better  than  we  could  have  expected." 

On  the  morning  of  the  twenty-ninth,  the  whole 
country  around  Detroit  was  covered  by  a  sea  of 
fog,  the  precursor  of  a  hot  and  sultry  day ;  but  at 
sunrise  its  surface  began  to  heave  and  toss,  and, 
parting  at  intervals,  disclosed  the  dark  and  burn- 
ished surface  of  the  river ;  then  lightly  rolling, 
fold  upon  fold,  the  mists  melted  rapidly  away, 
the  last  remnant  clinging  sluggishly  along  the 
margin  of  the  forests.  Now,  for  the  first  time, 
the  garrison  could  discern  the  approaching  con- 
voy.^     Still   they   remained   in    suspense,    fearing 

1  Penn.  Gaz.  No.  1811.  2  Pontiac  MS. 


1763,  July.]         DETACHMENT   FROM   NIAGARA.  307 

lest  it  might  have  met  the  fate  of  the  former 
detachment ;  but  a  salute  from  the  fort  was 
answered  by  a  swivel  from  the  boats,  and  at 
once  all  apprehension  passed  away.  The  convoy 
soon  reached  a  point  in  the  river  midway  between 
the  villages  of  the  Wyandots  and  the  Pottawatta- 
mies.  About  a  fortnight  before,  as  we  have  seen, 
these  capricious  savages  had  made  a  treaty  of 
peace,  which  they  now  saw  fit  to  break,  opening  a 
hot  fire  upon  the  boats  from  either  bank.^  It  was 
answered  by  swivels  and  musketry  ;  but  before  the 
short  engagement  was  over,  fifteen  of  the  English 
were  killed  or  wounded.  This  danger  passed, 
boat  after  boat  came  to  shore,  and  landed  its  men 
amid  the  cheers  of  the  garrison.  The  detachment 
was  composed  of  soldiers  from  the  55th  and  80th 
Regiments,  with  twenty  independent  rangers,  com- 
manded by  Major  Rogers  ;  and  as  the  barracks  in 
the  place  were  too  small  to  receive  them,  they 
were  all  quartered  upon  the  inhabitants. 

Scarcely  were  these  arrangements  made,  when 
a  great  smoke  was  seen  rising  from  the  Wyandot 
village  across  the  river,  and  the  inhabitants,  appar- 
ently in  much  consternation,  were  observed  pad- 
dling down  stream  with  their  household  utensils, 
and  even  their  dogs.  It  was  supposed  that  they 
had  abandoned  and  burned  their  huts  ;  but  in 
truth,  it  was  only  an  artifice  of  these  Indians,  who 
had  set  fire  to  some  old  canoes  and  other  refuse 
piled  in  front  of  their  village,  after  which  the  war- 
riors, having  concealed  the  women   and  children, 

1  MS.  Letter  —  Major  Rogers  to ,  Aug.  5. 


308  THE  FIGHT   OF  BLOODY  BRIDGE.     [1763,  July. 

returned  and  lay  in  ambush  among  the  bushes, 
hoping  to  lure  some  of  the  English  within  reach 
of  their  guns.  None  of  them,  however,  fell  into 
the  snare.^ 

Captain  Dalzell  was  the  same  officer  who  was 
the  companion  of  Israel  Putnam  in  some  of  the 
most  adventurous  passages  of  that  rough  veteran's 
life ;  but  more  recently  he  had  acted  as  aide-de- 
camp to  Sir  Jeffrey  Amherst.  On  the  day  of  his 
arrival,  he  had  a  conference  with  Gladwyn,  at  the 
quarters  of  the  latter,  and  strongly  insisted  that  the 
time  was  come  when  an  irrecoverable  blow  might 
be  struck  at  Pontiac.  He  requested  permission  to 
march  out  on  the  following  night,  and  attack  the 
Indian  camp.  Gladwyn,  better  acquainted  with 
the  position  of  affairs,  and  perhaps  more  cautious 
by  nature,  was  averse  to  the  attempt ;  but  Dalzell 
urged  his  request  so  strenuously  that  the  command- 
ant yielded  to  his  representations,  and  gave  a  tardy 
consent.^ 

Pontiac  had  recently  removed  his  camp  from  its 
old  position  near  the  mouth  of  Parent's  Creek,  and 
was  now  posted  several  miles  above,  behind  a  great 
marsh,  which  protected  the  Indian  huts  from  the 

1  Pontiac  MS. 

2  Extract  from  a  MS.  Letter — Major  Gladwyn  to  Sir  J.  Amherst. 

"  Detroit,  Aug.  8th,  1763. 
"  On  the  31st,  Captain  Dalyell  Kequested,  as  a  particular  favor,  that 
I  would  give  him  the  Command  of  a  Party,  in  order  to  Attempt  the  Sur- 
prizal  of  Pontiac's  Camp,  under  cover  of  the  Night,  to  which  I  answered 
that  I  was  of  opinion  he  was  too  much  on  his  Guard  to  Effect  it ;  he  then 
said  he  thought  I  had  it  in  my  power  to  give  him  a  Stroke,  and  that  if  I 
did  not  Attempt  it  now,  he  would  Run  off,  and  I  should  never  have 
another  Opportunity ;  this  induced  me  to  give  in  to  the  Scheme,  contrary 
to  my  Judgement." 


1763,Jlxy.1  a  night  ATTACK.  309 

cannon  of  the  vessel.  On  the  afternoon  of  the 
thu'tieth,  orders  were  issued  and  preparations 
made  for  the  meditated  attack.  Through  the 
inexcusable  carelessness  of  some  of  the  officers, 
the  design  became  known  to  a  few  Canadians,  the 
bad  result  of  which  will  appear  in  the  sequel. 

About  two  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  thirty- 
first  of  July,  the  gates  were  thrown  open  in  silence, 
and  the  detachment,  two  hundred  and  fifty  in  num- 
ber, passed  noiselessly  out.  They  filed  two  deep 
along  the  road,  while  two  large  bateaux,  each  bear- 
ing a  swivel  on  the  bow,  rowed  up  the  river  abreast 
of  them.  Lieutenant  Brown  led  the  advance 
guard  of  twenty-five  men ;  the  centre  was  com- 
manded by  Captain  Gray,  and  the  rear  by  Captain 
Grant.  The  night  was  still,  close,  and  sultry,  and 
the  men  marched  in  light  undress.  On  their  right 
was  the  dark  and  gleaming  surface  of  the  river, 
with  a  margin  of  sand  intervening,  and  on  their  left 
a  succession  of  Canadian  houses,  with  barns,  or- 
chards, and  cornfields,  from  whence  the  clamorous 
barking  of  watch-dogs  saluted  them  as  they  passed. 
The  inhabitants,  roused  from  sleep,  looked  from 
the  windows  in  astonishment  and  alarm.  An  old 
man  has  told  the  writer  how,  when  a  child,  he 
climbed  on  the  roof  of  his  father's  house,  to  look 
down  on  the  glimmering  bayonets,  and  how,  long 
after  the  troops  had  passed,  their  heavy  and  meas- 
ured tramp  sounded  from  afar,  through  the  still 
night.  Thus  the  English  moved  forward  to  the 
attack,  little  thinking  that,  behind  houses  and 
enclosures,  Indian  scouts  watched  every  yard  of 


310  THE  FIGHT   OF  BLOODY  BRmGE.      [1763,  July. 

their  progress  —  little  suspecting  that  Pontiac, 
apprised  by  the  Canadians  of  their  plan,  had 
broken  up  his  camp,  and  was  coming  against 
them  with  all  his  warriors,  armed  and  painted 
for  battle. 

A  mile  and  a  half  from  the  fort,  Parent's  Creek, 
ever  since  that  night  called  Bloody  E-un,  descended 
through  a  wild  and  rough  hollow,  and  entered  the 
Detroit  amid  a  growth  of  rank  grass  and  sedge. 
Only  a  few  rods  from  its  mouth,  the  road  crossed 
it  by  a  narrow  wooden  bridge,  not  existing  at  the 
present  day.  Just  beyond  this  bridge,  the  land 
rose  in  abrupt  ridges,  parallel  to  the  stream.  Along 
their  summits  were  rude  intrenchments  made  by 
Pontiac  to  protect  his  camp,  which  had  formerly 
occupied  the  ground  immediately  beyond.  Here* 
too,  were  many  piles  of  firewood  belonging  to  the 
Canadians,  besides  strong  picket  fences,  enclosing 
orchards  and  gardens  connected  with  the  neighbor- 
ing houses.  Behind  fences,  wood-piles,  and  in- 
trenchments, crouched  an  unknown  number  of 
Indian  warriors  with  levelled  guns.  They  lay 
silent  as  snakes,  for  now  they  could  hear  the  dis- 
tant tramp  of  the  approaching  column. 

The  sky  was  overcast,  and  the  night  exceedingly 
dark.  As  the  English  drew  near  the  dangerous 
pass,  they  could  discern  the  oft-mentioned  house 
of  Meloche  upon  a  rising  ground  to  the  left,  while 
in  front  the  bridge  was  dimly  visible,  and  the  ridges 
beyond  it  seemed  like  a  wall  of  undistinguished 
blackness.  They  pushed  rapidly  forward,  not 
wholly    unsuspicious    of    danger.      The    advance 


1763,  July.]  RETREAT   OF   THE  ENGLISH.  311 

guard  were  half  way  over  the  bridge,  and  the 
main  body  just  entering  upon  it,  when  a  horrible 
burst  of  yells  rose  in  their  front,  and  the  Indian 
guns  blazed  forth  in  a  general  discharge.  Half 
the  advanced  party  were  shot  down ;  the  appalled 
survivors  shrank  back  aghast.  The  confusion 
reached  even  the  n;ain  body,  and  the  whole  re- 
coiled together  ;  but  Dalzell  raised  his  clear  voice 
above  the  din,  advanced  to  the  front,  rallied  the 
men,  and  led  them  forward  to  the  attack.^  Again 
the  Indians  poured  in  their  volley,  and  again  the 
English  hesitated ;  but  Dalzell  shouted  from  the 
van,  and,  in  the  madness  of  mingled  rage  and  fear, 
they  charged  at  a  run  across  the  bridge  and  up 
the  heights  beyond.  Not  an  Indian  was  there  to 
oppose  them.  In  vain  the  furious  soldiers  sought 
their  enemy  behind  fences  and  intrenchments.  The 
active  savages  had  fled ;  yet  still  their  guns  flashed 
thick  through  the  gloom,  and  their  war-ci'y  rose 
wath  undiminished  clamor.  The  English  pushed 
forward  amid  the  pitchy  darkness,  quite  ignorant  of 
their  way,  and  soon  became  involved  in  a  maze  of 
out-houses  and  enclosures.  At  every  pause  they 
made,  the  retiring  enemy  would  gather  to  renew 
the  attack,  firing  back  hotly  upon  the  front  and 
flanks.  To  advance  farther  would  be  useless,  and 
the  only  alternative  was  to  withdraw  and  wait 
for  daylight.  Captain  Grant,  with  his  company, 
recrossed  the  bridge,  and  took  up  his  station  on  the 
road.  The  rest  followed,  a  small  party  remaining 
to  hold  the  enemy  in  check  while  the  dead  and 

1  Penn.  Gaz.  No.  1811. 


312  THE  FIGHT   OF  BLOODY  BRIDGE.     [1763,  July. 

wounded  were  placed  on  board  the  two  bateaux 
which  had  rowed  up  to  the  bridge  during  the  action. 
This  task  was  commenced  amid  a  sharp  fii'e  from 
both  sides ;  and  before  it  was  completed,  heavy 
volleys  were  heard  from  the  rear,  where  Captain 
Grant  was  stationed.  A  great  force  of  Indians 
had  fired  upon  him  from  the  house  of  Meloche 
and  the  neighboring  orchards.  Grant  pushed  up 
the  hill,  and  drove  them  from  the  orchards  at  the 
point  of  the  bayonet  —  drove  them,  also,  from  the 
house,  and,  entering  it,  found  two  Canadians  within. 
These  men  told  him  that  the  Indians  were  bent  on 
cutting  off  the  English  from  the  fort,  and  that  they 
had  gone  in  great  numbers  to  occupy  the  houses 
which  commanded  the  road  below. ^  It  was  now 
evident  that  instant  retreat  was  necessary ;  and  the 
command  being  issued  to  that  effect,  the  men  fell 
back  into  marching  order,  and  slowly  began  their 
retrograde  movement.  Grant  was  now  in  the  van, 
and  Dalzell  at  the  rear.  Some  of  the  Indians  fol- 
lowed, keeping  up  a  scattering  and  distant  fire ; 
and  from  time  to  time  the  rear  faced  about,  to 
throw  back  a  volley  of  musketry  at  the  pursuers. 
Having  proceeded  in  this  manner  for  half  a  mile, 
they  reached  a  point  where,  close  upon  the  right, 
were  many  barns  and  outhouses,  with  strong  picket 
fences.  Behind  these,  and  in  a  newly  dug  cellar 
close  at  hand,  lay  concealed  a  great  multitude  of 
Indians.  They  suffered  the  advanced  party  to  pass 
unmolested ;  but  when  the  centre  and  rear  came 
opposite  their  ambuscade,   they  raised  a  frightful 

1  Detail  of  the  Action  of  the  2,1st  of  July.     See  Gent.  Mag.  XXXIII.  486. 


1763,  July.]  BRAVERY  OF  DALZELL.  313 

yell,  and  poured  a  volley  among  them.  The  men 
had  well-nigh  fallen  mto  a  panic.  The  river  ran 
close  on  their  left,  and  the  only  avenue  of  escape 
lay  along  the  road  in  front.  Breaking  their  ranks, 
they  crowded  upon  one  another  in  blind  eagerness 
to  escape  the  storm  of  bullets  ;  and  but  for  the 
presence  of  Dalzell,  the  retreat  would  have  been 
turned  into  a  flight.  "  The  enemy,"  writes  an 
officer  who  was  in  the  tight,  "  marked  him  for 
his  extraordinary  bravery ; "  and  he  had  already 
received  two  severe  wounds.  Yet  his  exertions 
did  not  slacken  for  a  moment.  Some  of  the 
soldiers  he  rebuked,  some  he  threatened,  and 
some  he  beat  with  the  flat  of  his  sword ;  till  at 
length  order  was  partially  restored,  and  the  fire  of 
the  enemy  returned  with  effect.  Though  it  was  near 
daybreak,  the  dawn  was  obscured  by  a  thick  fog, 
and  little  could  be  seen  of  the  Indians,  except  the 
incessant  flashes  of  their  guns  amid  the  mist,  while 
hundreds  of  voices,  mingled  in  one  appalling  yell, 
confused  the  faculties  of  the  men,  and  drowned  the 
shout  of  command.  The  enemy  had  taken  posses- 
sion of  a  house,  from  the  wdndows  of  which  they 
fired  down  upon  the  English.  Major  Rogers,  with 
some  of  his  provincial  rangers,  burst  the  door  with 
an  axe,  rushed  in,  and  expelled  them.  Captain 
Gray  was  ordered  to  dislodge  a  large  party  from 
behind  some  neighboring  fences.  He  charged 
them  with  his  company,  but  fell,  mortally  wounded, 
in  the  attempt.^  They  gave  way,  however ;  and 
now,  the  fire  of  the  Indians  being  much  diminished, 

1  Penn.  Gaz.  No.  1811. 


314  THE  FIGHT   OF  BLOODY  BRIDGE.      [1763,  Jcly. 

the  retreat  was  resumed.  No  sooner  had  the  men 
faced  about,  than  the  savages  came  darting  through 
the  mist  upon  their  flank  and  rear,  cutting  down 
stragglers,  and  scalping  the  fallen.  At  a  little 
distance  lay  a  sergeant  of  the  55th,  helplessly 
wounded,  raising  himself  on  his  hands,  and  gaz- 
ing with  a  look  of  despair  after  his  retiring  com- 
rades. The  sight  caught  the  eye  of  Dalzell.  That 
gallant  soldier,  in  the  true  spirit  of  heroism,  ran 
out,  amid  the  firing,  to  rescue  the  wounded  man, 
when  a  shot  struck  him,  and  he  fell  dead.  Few 
observed  his  fate,  and  none  durst  turn  back  to 
recover  his  body.  The  detachment  pressed  on, 
greatly  harassed  by  the  pursuing  Indians.  Their 
loss  would  have  been  much  more  severe,  had  not 
Major  Rogers  taken  possession  of  another  house, 
which  commanded  the  road,  and  covered  the  retreat 
of  the  party. 

He  entered  it  with  some  of  his  own  men,  while 
many  panic-stricken  regulars  broke  in  after  him,  in 
their  eagerness  to  gain  a  temporary  shelter.  The 
house  was  a  large  and  strong  one,  and  the  women 
of  the  neighborhood  had  crowded  into  the  cellar 
for  refuge.  While  some  of  the  soldiers  looked  in 
blind  terror  for  a  place  of  concealment,  others 
seized  upon  a  keg  of  whiskey  in  one  of  the 
rooms,  and  quafl'ed  the  liquor  with  eager  thirst ; 
while  others,  again,  piled  packs  of  furs,  furniture, 
and  all  else  within  their  reach,  against  the  windows, 
to  serve  as  a  barricade.  Panting  and  breathless, 
their  faces  moist  with  sweat  and  blackened  with 
gunpowder,    they    thrust    their   muskets    through 


1763,  July.]      GRANT  CONDUCTS  THE  RETREAT.  315 

the  openings,  and  fired  out  upon  the  whooping 
assailants.  At  intervals,  a  bullet  flew  sharply 
whizzing  through  a  crevice,  striking  down  a  man, 
perchance,  or  rapping  harmlessly  against  the  par- 
titions. Old  Campau,  the  master  of  the  house, 
stood  on  a  trap-door  to  prevent  the  frightened 
soldiers  from  seeking  shelter  among  the  women 
in  the  cellar.  A  ball  grazed  his  gray  head,  and 
buried  itself  in  the  wall,  where  a  few  years  since 
it  might  still  have  been  seen.  The  screams  of  the 
half-stifled  women  below,  the  quavering  war-whoops 
without,  the  shouts  and  curses  of  the  soldiers,  min- 
gled in  a  scene  of  clamorous  confusion,  and  it  was 
long  before  the  authority  of  Rogers  could  restore 
order.  ^ 

In  the  mean  time,  Captain  Grant,  with  his 
advanced  party,  had  moved  forward  about  half  a 
mile,  where  he  found  some  orchards  and  enclosures, 
by  means  of  which  he  could  maintain  himself  until 
the  centre  and  rear  should  arrive.  From  this  point 
he  detached  all  the  men  he  could  spare  to  occupy 
the  houses  below ;  and  as  soldiers  soon  began  to 
come  in  from  the  rear,  he  was  enabled  to  re-en- 
force these  detachments,  until  a  complete  line  of 
communication  was  established  with  the  fort,  and 
the  retreat  effectually  secured.  Within  an  hour, 
the  whole  party  had  arrived,  with  the  exception  of 
Eogers  and  his  men,  who  were  quite  unable  to 
come  ofl",  being  besieged  in  the  house  of  Campau, 

1  Many  particulars  of  the  fight  at  the  house  of  Campau  were  related 
to  me,  on  the  spot,  by  John  R.  Williams,  Esq.,  of  Detroit,  a  connection  of 
the  Campau  family. 


316  THE  FIGHT   OF  BLOODY  BRIDGE.     [1763,  July. 

by  full  two  hundred  Indians.  The  two  armed 
bateaux  had  gone  down  to  the  fort,  laden  with  the 
dead  and  wounded.  They  now  returned,  and,  in 
obedience  to  an  order  from  Grant,  proceeded  up 
the  river  to  a  point  opposite  Campau's  house,  where 
they  opened  a  fire  of  swivels,  which  swept  the 
ground  above  and  below  it,  and  completely  scat- 
tered the  assailants.  Rogers  and  his  party  now 
came  out,  and  marched  down  the  road,  to  unite 
themselves  with  Grant.  The  two  bateaux  accom- 
panied them  closely,  and,  by  a  constant  fire,  re- 
strained the  Indians  from  making  an  attack. 
Scarcely  had  Rogers  left  the  house  at  one  door, 
w^hen  the  enemy  entered  it  at  another,  to  obtain  the 
scalps  from  two  or  three  corpses  left  behind.  Fore- 
most of  them  all,  a  withered  old  squaw  rushed  in, 
with  a  shrill  scream,  and,  slashing  open  one  of  the 
dead  bodies  with  her  knife,  scooped  up  the  blood 
between  her  hands,  and  quaffed  it  with  a  ferocious 
ecstasy. 

Grant  resumed  his  retreat  as  soon  as  Rogers  had 
arrived,  falling  back  from  house  to  house,  joined 
in  succession  by  the  parties  sent  to  garrison  each. 
The  Indians,  in  great  numbers,  stood  whooping 
and  yelling,  at  a  vain  distance,  unable  to  make  an 
attack,  so  well  did  Grant  choose  his  positions,  and 
so  steadily  and  coolly  conduct  the  retreat.  About 
eight  o'clock,  after  six  hours  of  marching  and  com- 
bat, the  detachment  entered  once  more  within  the 
sheltering  palisades  of  Detroit. 

In  this  action,  the  English  lost  fifty-nine  men 
killed    and    wounded.      The    loss    of   the    Indians 


1763,  July.]  ELATION   OF   THE   INDIANS.  317 

could  not  be  ascertained,  but  it  certainly  did  not 
exceed  fifteen  or  twenty.  At  the  beginning  of  the 
fight,  their  numbers  were  probably  much  inferior 
to  those  of  the  English ;  but  fresh  parties  were 
continually  joining  them,  until  seven  or  eight  hun- 
dred warriors  must  have  been  present. 

The  Ojibwas  and  Ottawas  alone  formed  the 
ambuscade  at  the  bridge,  under  Pontiac's  com- 
mand ;  for  the  Wyandots  and  Pottawattamies  came 
later  to  the  scene  of  action,  crossing  the  river  in 
their  canoes,  or  passing  round  through  the  woods 
behind  the  fort,  to  take  part  in  the  fray.^ 

In  speaking  of  the  fight  of  Bloody  Bridge,  an 
able  writer  in  the  Annual  E-egister  for  the  year 
1763  observes,  with  justice,  that  although  in  Euro- 
pean warfare  it  w^ould  be  deemed  a  mere  skirmish, 
yet  in  a  conflict  with  the  American  savages,  it  rises 
to  the  importance  of  a  pitched  battle ;  since  these 
people,  being  thinly  scattered  over  a  great  extent  of 
country,  are  accustomed  to  conduct  their  warfare 
by  detail,  and  never  take  the  field  in  any  great 
force. 

The  Indians  were  greatly  elated  by  their  success. 
Runners  were  sent  out  for  several  hundred  miles, 
through  the  surrounding  woods,  to  spread  tidings 

IMS.  Letters  —  MacDonald  to  Dr.  Campbell,  Aug.  8.  Gage  to  Lord 
HaUfax,  Oct.  1 2.  Amherst  to  Lord  Egremont,  Sept.  3.  Meloche's  Account, 
MS.  Gouin's  Account,  MS.  St.  Aubin's  Account,  MS.  Peltier's  Account, 
MS.  MarweWs  Account,  MS.,  etc.  In  the  Diary  of  the  Siege  is  the  fol- 
lowing, under  date  of  August  1st :  "Young  Mr.  Carapo  (Campau)  brought 
in  the  Body  of  poor  Capt,  Daly  el  (Dalzell)  about  three  o'clock  to-day, 
which  was  mangled  in  such  a  horrid  Manner  that  it  was  shocking  to 
human  nature;  the  Indians  wip'd  his  Heart  about  the  Faces  of  our 
Prisoners." 


318  THE  FIGHT   OF  BLOODY  BRIDGE.     [1763,  Sept. 

of  the  victory ;  and  re-enforcements  soon  began  to 
come  in  to  swell  the  force  of  Pontiac.  "  Fresh 
warriors,"  writes  Gladwyn,  "  arrive  almost  every 
day,  and  I  believe  that  I  shall  soon  be  besieged  by 
upwards  of  a  thousand."  The  English,  on  their 
part,  were  well  prepared  for  resistance,  since  the 
garrison  now  comprised  more  than  three  hundred 
effective  men ;  and  no  one  entertained  a  doubt  of 
their  ultimate  success  in  defending  the  place. 
Day  after  day  passed  on  ;  a  few  skirmishes  took 
place,  and  a  few  men  were  killed,  but  nothing 
worthy  of  notice  occurred,  until  the  night  of  the 
fourth  of  vSeptember,  at  which  time  was  achieved 
one  of  the  most  memorable  feats  which  the  chroni- 
cles of  that  day  can  boast. 

The  schooner  Gladwyn,  the  smaller  of  the  two 
armed  vessels  so  often  mentioned,  had  been  sent 
down  to  Niagara  with  letters  and  despatches.  She 
was  now  returning,  having  on  board  Horst,  her 
master,  Jacobs,  her  mate,  and  a  crew  of  ten  men, 
all  of  whom  were  provincials,  besides  six  Iroquois 
Indians,  supposed  to  be  friendly  to  the  English. 
On  the  night  of  the  third,  she  entered  the  Eiver 
Detroit ;  and  in  the  morning  the  six  Indians  asked 
to  be  set  on  shore,  a  request  which  Avas  foolishly 
granted.  They  disappeared  in  the  woods,  and 
probably  reported  to  Pontiac's  warriors  the  small 
numbers  of  the  crew.  The  vessel  stood  up  the 
river  until  nightfall,  when,  the  wind  failing,  she 
was  compelled  to  anchor  about  nine  miles  below 
the  fort.  The  men  on  board  watched  with  anxious 
vigilance ;  and  as  night  came  on,  they  listened  to 


1763,  Sept.]     ATTACK  ON  SCHOONER  GLAD WYN.  319 

every  sound  wbicli  broke  the  stillness,  from  the 
strange  cry  of  the  nighthawk,  wheeling  above  their 
heads,  to  the  bark  of  the  fox  from  the  woods  on 
shore.  The  night  set  in  with  darkness  so  com- 
plete, that  at  the  distance  of  a  few  rods  nothing 
could  be  discerned.  Meantime,  three  hundred  and 
fifty  Indians,  in  their  birch  canoes,  glided  silently 
down  with  the  current,  and  were  close  upon  the 
vessel  before  they  were  seen.  There  was  only  time 
to  fire  a  single  cannon-shot  among  them,  before 
they  were  beneath  her  bows,  and  clambering  up 
her  sides,  holding  their  knives  clinched  fast  be- 
tween their  teeth.  The  crew  gave  them  a  close 
fire  of  musketry,  without  any  eifect ;  then,  flinging 
down  their  guns,  they  seized  the  spears  and  hatchets 
with  which  they  were  all  provided,  and  met  the 
assaihmts  with  such  furious  energy  and  courage, 
that  in  the  space  of  two  or  three  minutes  they  had 
killed  and  wounded  more  than  twice  their  own 
number.  But  the  Indians  were  only  checked  for  a 
moment.  The  master  of  the  vessel  was  killed, 
several  of  the  crew  were  disabled,  and  the  assail- 
ants were  leaping  over  the  bulwarks,  when  Jacobs, 
the  mate,  called  out  to  blow  up  the  schooner.  This 
desperate  command  saved  her  and  her  crew.  Some 
Wyandots,  who  had  gained  the  deck,  caught  tlie 
meaning  of  his  words,  and  gave  the  alarm  to  their 
companions.  Instantly  every  Indian  leaped  over- 
board in  a  panic,  and  the  whole  were  seen  diving 
and  swimming  ofi*  in  all  directions,  to  escape  the 
threatened  explosion.  The  schooner  was  cleared 
of  her  assailants,  who  did  not  dare  to  renew  the 


320  THE   FIGHT    OF  BLOODY  BRIDGE.     [1763,  Sept. 

attack  ;  and  on  the  following  morning  she  sailed 
for  the  fort,  which  she  reached  without  molesta- 
tion. Six  of  her  crew  escaped  unhurt.  Of  the 
remainder,  two  were  killed,  and  four  seriously 
wounded,  while  the  Indians  had  seven  men  killed 
upon  the  spot,  and  nearly  twenty  wounded,  of 
whom  eight  were  know^n  to  have  died  within  a 
few  days  after.  As  the  action  was  very  brief,  the 
fierceness  of  the  struggle  is  sufficiently  apparent 
from  the  loss  on  both  sides.  "  The  appearance  of 
the  men,"  says  an  eye-witness  who  saw  them  on 
their  arrival,  "  was  enough  to  convince  every  one 
of  their  bravery  ;  they  being  as  bloody  as  butchers, 
and  their  bayonets,  spears,  and  cutlasses,  blood  to 
the  hilt."  The  survivors  of  the  crew  were  after- 
wards rewarded  as  their  courage  deserved.^ 

And  now,  taking  leave,  for  a  time,  of  the  garri- 

1  MS.  Letter —  Gladwyn  to  Amherst,  Sept.  9.  Carver,  164.  Relation 
of  the  Gallant  Defence  of  the  Schooner  near  Detroit,  published  by  order  of 
General  Amherst,  in  the  New  York  papers.  Penn.  Gaz.  No.  1816.  MS. 
Letter  —  Amherst  to  Lord  Egremont,  Oct.  13.  St.  Aubin's  Account,  MS.  Pd- 
tier's  Account,  MS.  Relation  of  some  Transactions  at  the  Detroit  in  Sept.  and 
Oct.  1763,  MS. 

The  Commander-in-chief  ordered  a  medal  to  be  struck  and  presented 
to  each  of  the  men.  Jacobs,  the  mate  of  the  schooner,  appears  to  have 
been  as  rash  as  he  was  brave ;  for  Captain  Carver  says,  that  several 
years  after,  when  in  command  of  the  same  vessel,  he  was  lost,  with  all 
his  crew,  in  a  storm  on  Lake  Erie,  in  consequence  of  having  obstinately 
refused  to  take  in  ballast  enough. 

As  this  affair  savors  somewhat  of  the  marvellous,  the  following  evi- 
dence is  given  touching  the  most  remarkable  features  of  the  story.  The 
document  was  copied  from  the  archives  of  London. 

Extract  from  "  A  Relation  of  the  Gallant  Defence  made  by  the  Crew  of  the 
Schooner  on  Lake  Erie,  when  Attacked  by  a  Large  Body  of  Lidians  ;  as  Pub- 
lished by  Order  of  Sir  Jeffrey  Amherst  in  the  New  York  Papers." 

"  The  Schooner  Sailed  from  Niagara,  loaded  with  Provisions,  some 
time  in  August  last :  Her  Crew  consisted  of  the  Master  and  Eleven 
Men,  with   Six  Mohawk  Indians,  who  were  Intended  for  a  particular 


1763,  Sept.]  THE  WAR  IN  THE  NORTH.  321 

son  of  Detroit,  whose  fortunes  we  have  followed 
so  long,  we  will  turn  to  observe  the  progress  of 
events  in  a  quarter  of  the  wilderness  yet  more  wild 
and  remote. 

Service.  She  entered  the  Detroit  River,  on  the  3^  September;  And  on 
the  4t*>  in  the  Morning,  the  Mohawks  seemed  very  Desirous  of  being  put 
on  Shore,  which  the  Master,  very  Inconsiderately,  agreed  to.  The  Wind 
proved  contrary  all  that  Day ;  and  in  the  Evening,  the  Vessell  being  at 
Anchor,  about  Nine  o' Clock,  the  Boat-swain  discovered  a  Number  of 
Canoes  coming  down  the  River,  with  about  Three  Hundred  and  Fifty 
Indians  ;  Upon  which  the  Bow  Gun  was  Immediately  Fired ;  but  before 
the  other  Guns  could  be  brought  to  Bear,  the  Enemy  got  under  the  Bow 
and  Stern,  in  Spite  of  the  Swivels  &  Small  Arms,  and  Attempted  to 
Board  the  Vessell ;  Whereupon  the  Men  Abandoned  their  Small  Arms, 
and  took  to  their  Spears,  with  which  they  were  provided  ;  And,  with 
Amazing  Resolution  and  Bravery,  knocked  the  Savages  in  the  Head ; 
Killed  many  ;  and  saved  the  Vessell.  .  .  It  is  certain  Seven  of  the  Savages 
were  Killed  on  the  Spot,  and  Eight  had  Died  of  those  that  were  Wounded, 
when  the  Accounts  came  away.  The  Master  and  One  Man  were  Killed, 
and  four  Wounded,  on  Board  the  Schooner,  and  the  other  Six  brought 
her  Safe  to  the  Detroit." 

It  is  somewhat  singular  that  no  mention  is  here  made  of  the  command 
to  blow  up  the  vessel.  The  most  explicit  authorities  on  this  point  are 
Carver,  who  obtained  his  account  at  Detroit,  three  years  after  the  war, 
and  a  letter  published  in  the  Pennsijlvania  Gazette,  No.  1816.  This  letter 
is  dated  at  Detroit,  five  days  after  the  attack.  The  circumstance  is  also 
mentioned  in  several  traditional  accounts  of  the  Canadians. 


CHAPTER    XVI. 

1763. 
MICHILLI  MACKINAC. 

In  the  spring  of  the  year  1763,  before  the  war 
broke  out,  several  English  traders  went  up  to 
Michillimackinac,  some  adopting  the  old  route  of 
the  Ottawa,  and  others  that  of  Detroit  and  the 
lakes.  We  will  follow  one  of  the  latter  on  his 
adventurous  progress.  Passing  the  fort  and  settle- 
ment of  Detroit,  he  soon  enters  Lake  St.  Clair, 
which  seems  like  a  broad  basin  filled  to  overflow- 
ing, while,  along  its  far  distant  verge,  a  faint  line 
of  forest  separates  the  water  from  the  sky.  He 
crosses  the  lake,  and  his  voyageurs  next  urge  his 
canoe  against  the  current  of  the  great  river  above. 
At  length.  Lake  Huron  opens  before  him,  stretch- 
ing its  liquid  expanse,  like  an  ocean,  to  the  farthest 
horizon.  His  canoe  skirts  the  eastern  shore  of 
Michigan,  where  the  forest  rises  like  a  wall  from 
the  water's  edge ;  and  as  he  advances  northward, 
an  endless  line  of  stiff  and  shaggy  fir-trees,  hung 
with  long  mosses,  fringes  the  shore  with  an  aspect 
of  monotonous  desolation.  In  the  space  of  two  or 
three  weeks,  if  his  Canadians  labor  well,  and  no 
accident  occur,  the  trader  approaches  the  end  of 


1763.]  FORT  MICHILLIMACKINAC.  323 

his  voyage.  Passing  on  his  right  the  extensive 
Island  of  Bois  Blanc,  he  sees,  nearly  in  front,  the 
beautiful  Mackinaw,  rising,  with  its  white  cliffs 
and  green  foliage,  from  the  broad  breast  of  the 
waters.  He  does  not  steer  towards  it,  for  at  that 
day  the  Indians  were  its  only  tenants,  but  keeps 
along  the  main  shore  to  the  left,  while  his  voy- 
ageurs  raise  their  song  and  chorus.  Doubling  a 
point,  he  sees  before  him  the  red  flag  of  England 
swelling  lazily  in  the  wind,  and  the  palisades  and 
wooden  bastions  of  Fort  Michillimackinac  standing 
close  upon  the  margin  of  the  lake.  On  the  beach, 
canoes  are  drawn  up,  and  Canadians  and  Indians 
are  idly  lounging.  A  little  beyond  the  fort  is  a 
cluster  of  the  white  Canadian  houses,  roofed  with 
bark,  and  protected  by  fences  of  strong  round 
pickets. 

The  trader  enters  at  the  gate,  and  sees  before 
him  an  extensive  square  area,  surrounded  by  high 
palisades.  Numerous  houses,  barracks,  and  other 
buildings,  form  a  smaller  square  within,  and  in  the 
vacant  space  which  they  enclose  appear  the  red 
uniforms  of  British  soldiers,  the  gray  coats  of 
Canadians,  and  the  gaudy  Indian  blankets,  mingled 
in  picturesque  confusion ;  while  a  multitude  of 
squaws,  with  children  of  every  hue,  stroll  restlessly 
about  the  place.  Such  was  Fort  Michillimackinac 
in  1763.^  Its  name,  which,  in  the  Algonquin 
tongue,  signifies  the  Great  Turtle,  was  first,  from 


1  This  description  is  drawn  from  traditional  accounts  aided  by  a  per- 
sonal examination  of  the  spot,  where  the  stumps  of  tlie  pickets  and  the 
foundations  of  the  houses  may  still  he  traced. 


324  MICHILLIMACKINAC.  [1763. 

a  fancied  resemblance,  applied  to  the  neighboring 
island,  and  thence  to  the  fort. 

Though  buried  in  a  wilderness,  Michillimackinac 
was  still  of  no  recent  origin.  As  early  as  1671,  the 
Jesuits  had  established  a  mission  near  the  place, 
and  a  military  force  was  not  long  in  following  ;  for, 
under  the  French  dominion,  the  priest  and  the 
soldier  went  hand  in  hand.  Neither  toil,  nor  suf- 
fering, nor  all  the  terrors  of  the  wilderness,  could 
damp  the  zeal  of  the  undaunted  missionary  ;  and 
the  restless  ambition  of  France  was  always  on  the 
alert  to  seize  every  point  of  vantage,  and  avail 
itself  of  every  means  to  gain  ascendency  over  the 
forest  tribes.  Besides  Michillimackinac,  there  were 
two  other  posts  in  this  northern  region.  Green  Bay, 
and  the  Sault  Ste.  Marie.  Both  were  founded  at 
an  early  period,  and  both  presented  the  same  char- 
acteristic features  —  a  mission-house,  a  fort,  and  a 
cluster  of  Canadian  dwellings.  They  had  been 
originally  garrisoned  by  small  parties  of  militia, 
who,  bringing  their  families  with  them,  settled  on 
the  spot,  and  were  founders  of  these  little  colonies. 
Michillimackinac,  much  the  largest  of  the  three, 
contained  thirty  families  within  the  palisades  of 
the  fort,  and  about  as  many  more  without.  Be- 
sides its  military  value,  it  was  important  as  a  centre 
of.  the  fur- trade ;  for  it  was  here  that  the  traders 
engaged  their  men,  and  sent  out  their  goods  in 
canoes,  under  the  charge  of  subordinates,  to  the 
more  distant  regions  of  the  Mississippi  and  the 
North-west. 

During  the  greater  part  of  the  year,  the  garrison 


1763. J  THE  NEIGHBORING   TRIBES.  325 

and  the  settlers  were  completely  isolated  —  cut  off 
from  all  connection  with  the  world  ;  and,  indeed, 
so  great  was  the  distance,  and  so  serious  the  perils, 
which  separated  the  three  sister  posts  of  the  north- 
ern lakes,  that  often,  through  the  whole  winter,  all 
intercourse  was  stopped  between  them.^ 

It  is  difficult  for  the  imagination  adequately  to 
conceive  the  extent  of  these  fresh-water  oceans, 
and  vast  regions  of  forest,  which,  at  the  date  of 
our  narrative,  were  the  domain  of  nature,  a  mighty 
hunting  and  fishing  ground,  for  the  sustenance  of  a 
few  wandering  tribes.  One  might  journey  among 
them  for  days,  and  even  weeks  together,  without 
beholding  a  human  face.  The  Indians  near  Mich- 
illimackinac  were  the  Ojibwas  and  Ottawas,  the 
former  of  whom  claimed  the  eastern  section  of 
Michigan,  and  the  latter  the  western,  their  respec- 
tive portions  being  separated  by  a  line  drawn 
southward  from  the  fort  itself.^  The  principal 
village  of  the  Ojibwas  contained  about  a  hundred 
warriors,  and  stood  upon  the  Island  of  Michilli- 
mackinac,  now  called  Mackinaw.  There  was 
another  smaller  village  near  the  head  of  Thunder 
Bay.  The  Ottawas,  to  the  number  of  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty  warriors,  lived  at  the  settlement  of 
L'Arbre  Croche,  on  the  shores  of  Lake  Michigan, 
some  distance  west  of  the  fort.  This  place  was 
then  the  seat  of  the  old  Jesuit  mission  of  St.  Ig- 
nace,  originally  placed,  by  Father  Marquette,  on  the 
northern  side  of  the  straits.     Many  of  the  Ottawas 

1  MS.  Journal  of  Lieutenant  Gorell,  commanding  at  Green  Bay,  1761-63. 

2  Carver,  Travels,  29. 


326  MICHILLIMACKINAC.  [1761. 

were  nominal  Catholics.  They  were  all  somewhat 
improved  from  their  original  savage  condition,  liv- 
ing in  log  houses,  and  cultivating  corn  and  vegeta- 
bles to  such  an  extent  as  to  supply  the  fort  with 
provisions,  besides  satisfying  their  own  wants. 
The  Ojibwas,  on  the  other  hand,  were  not  in  the 
least  degree  removed  from  their  primitive  barbar- 
ism.^ 

These  two  tribes,  with  most  of  the  other  neigh- 
boring Indians,  were  strongly  hostile  to  the  English. 
Many  of  their  warriors  had  fought  against  them  in 
the  late  war,  for  France  had  summoned  allies  from 
the  farthest  corners  of  the  wilderness,  to  aid  her  in 
her  struggle.  This  feeling  of  hostility  was  excited 
to  a  higher  pitch  by  the  influence  of  the  Canadians, 
who  disliked  the  English,  not  merely  as  national 
enemies,  but  also  as  rivals  in  the  fur-trade,  and 
were  extremely  jealous  of  their  intrusion  upon  the 
lakes.  The  following  incidents,  which  occurred  in 
the  autumn  of  the  year  1761,  will  illustrate  the 
state  of  feeling  which  prevailed  :  — 

At  that  time,  although  Michillimackinac  had  been 
surrendered,  and  the  French  garrison  removed,  no 
English  troops  had  yet  arrived  to  supply  their  place, 
and  the  Canadians  were  the  only  tenants  of  the  fort. 
An  adventurous  trader,  Alexander  Henry,  who, 
with  one  or  two  others,  was  the  pioneer  of  the 
English  fur-trade  in  this  region,  came  to  Michil- 
limackinac by  the  route  of  the  Ottawa.  On  the 
way,  he  was  several  times  warned  to  turn  back, 

1  Many  of  these  particulars  are  derived  from  memoranda  furnished  by- 
Henry  R.  Schoolcraft,  Esq. 


1761.]  ,    adventures'  OF  A  TRADER.  327 

and  assured  of  death  if  he  proceeded ;  and,  at 
length,  was  compelled  for  safety  to  assume  the  dis- 
guise of  a  Canadian  voyageur.  When  his  canoes, 
laden  with  goods,  reached  the  fort,  he  was  very 
coldly  received  by  its  inhabitants,  who  did  all  in 
their  power  to  alarm  and  discourage  him.  Soon 
after  his  arrival,  he  received  the  very  unwelcome 
information,  that  a  large  number  of  Ojibwas,  from 
the  neighboring  villages,  were  coming,  in  their 
canoes,  to  call  upon  him.  Under  ordinary  cir- 
cumstances, such  a  visitation,  though  disagreeable 
enough,  would  excite  neither  anxiety  nor  surprise  ; 
for  the  Indians,  when  in  their  villages,  lead  so  mo- 
notonous an  existence,  that  they  are  ready  to  snatch 
at  the  least  occasion  of  excitement,  and  the  pros- 
pect of  a  few  trifling  presents,  and  a  few  pipes  of 
tobacco,  is  often  a  sufficient  inducement  for  a  jour- 
ney of  several  days.  But  in  the  present  instance 
there  was  serious  cause  of  apprehension,  since 
Canadians  and  Frenchmen  were  alike  hostile  to  the 
solitary  trader.  The  story  could  not  be  better  told 
than  in  his  own  words. 

"  At  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  the  Chip pe was 
(Ojibwas)  came  to  the  house,  about  sixty  in  num- 
ber, and  headed  by  Minavavana,  their  chief.  They 
walked  in  single  file,  each  with  his  tomahawk  in 
one  hand  and  scalping-knife  in  the  other.  Their 
bodies  were  naked  from  the  waist  upward,  except 
in  a  few  examples,  where  blankets  were  thrown 
loosely  over  the  shoulders.  Their  faces  were 
painted  with  charcoal,  worked  up  with  grease,  their 
bodies  with  white  clay,  in  patterns  of  various  fan- 


328  MICHILLIMACKINAC.  [1761. 

cies.  Some  had  feathers  thrust  through  their 
noses,  and  their  heads  decorated  with  the  same. 
It  is  unnecessary  to  dwell  on  the  sensations  with 
which  I  beheld  the  approach  of  this  uncouth,  if 
not  frightful  assemblage. 

"  The  chief  entered  first,  and  the  rest  followed 
without  noise.  On  receiving  a  sign  from  the  for- 
mer, the  latter  seated  themselves  on  the  floor. 

"  Minavavana  appeared  to  be  about  fifty  years 
of  age.  He  was  six  feet  in  height,  and  had  in  his 
countenance  an  indescribable  mixture  of  good  and 
evil.  Looking  steadfastly  at  me,  where  I  sat  in 
ceremony,  with  an  interpreter  on  either  hand,  and 
several  Canadians  behind  me,  he  entered,  at  the 
same  time,  into  conversation  with  Campion,  inquir- 
ing how  long  it  was  since  I  left  Montreal,  and  ob- 
serving that  the  English,  as  it  would  seem,  were 
brave  men,  and  not  afraid  of  death,  since  they 
dared  to  come,  as  I  had  done,  fearlessly  among 
their  enemies. 

"  The  Indians  now  gravely  smoked  their  pipes, 
while  I  inwardly  endured  the  tortures  of  suspense. 
At  length,  the  pipes  being  finished,  as  well  as  a 
long  pause,  by  which  they  were  succeeded,  Mina- 
vavana, taking  a  few^  strings  of  wampum  in  his 
hand,  began  the  following  speech :  — 

'- '  Englishman,  it  is  to  you  that  I  speak,  and  I 
demand  your  attention. 

'' '  Englishman,  you  know  that  the  French  King 
is  our  father.  He  promised  to  be  such  ;  and  we, 
in  return,  promised  to  be  his  children.  This  prom- 
ise we  have  kept. 


1761.]  SPEECH  OF  MINAVAVANA.  329 

" '  Englishman,  it  is  you  that  have  made  war 
with  this  our  father.  You  are  his  enemy ;  and 
how,  then,  could  you  have  the  boldness  to  venture 
among  us,  his  children?  You  know  that  his  ene- 
mies are  ours. 

"  '  Englishman,  we  are  informed  that  our  father, 
the  King  of  France,  is  old  and  infirm  ;  and  that, 
being  fatigued  with  making  war  upon  your  nation, 
he  is  fallen  asleep.  During  his  sleep  you  have 
taken  advantage  of  him,  and  possessed  yourselves 
of  Canada.  But  his  nap  is  almost  at  an  end.  I 
think  I  hear  him  already  stirring,  and  inquiring 
for  his  children,  the  Indians  ;  and  when  he  does 
awake,  what  must  become  of  you'?  He  will  de- 
stroy you  utterly. 

" '  Englishman,  although  you  have  conquered 
the  French,  you  have  not  yet  conquered  us.  We 
are  not  your  slaves.  These  lakes,  these  woods  and 
mountains,  were  left  to  us  by  our  ancestors.  They 
are  our  inheritance  ;  and  we  will  part  with  them 
to  none.  Your  nation  supposes  that  we,  like  the 
white  people,  cannot  live  without  bread,  and  pork, 
and  beef!  But  you  ought  to  know  that  He,  the 
Great  Spirit  and  Master  of  Life,  has  provided  food 
for  us  in  these  spacious  lakes,  and  on  these  woody 
mountains. 

"  '  Englishman,  our  father,  the  King  of  France, 
employed  our  young  men  to  make  war  upon  your 
nation.  In  this  warfare  many  of  them  have  been 
killed  ;  and  it  is  our  custom  to  retaliate  until  such 
time  as  the  spirits  of  the  slain  are  satisfied.  But 
the  spirits  of  the  slain  are  to  be  satisfied  in  either 


330  MICHILLIMACKINAC.  [1761. 

of  two  ways  ;  the  first  is  by  the  spilling  of  the 
blood  of  the  nation  by  which  they  fell ;  the  other, 
by  covering  the  bodies  of  the  dead,  and  thus  allay- 
ing the  resentment  of  their  relations.  This  is  done 
by  making  presents. 

•'  '  Englishman,  your  king  has  never  sent  us  any 
presents,  nor  entered  into  any  treaty  with  us  ; 
wherefore  he  and  we  are  still  at  war  ;  and,  until 
he  does  these  things,  we  must  consider  that  we 
have  no  other  father  nor  friend,  among  the  white 
men,  than  the  King  of  France ;  but  for  you,  we 
have  taken  into  consideration  that  you  have  ven- 
tured your  life  among  us,  in  the  expectation  that 
we  should  not  molest  you.  You  do  not  come 
armed,  with  an  intention  to  make  war ;  you  come 
in  peace,  to  trade  with  us,  and  supply  us  with 
necessaries,  of  which  we  are  in  much  want.  We 
shall  regard  you,  therefore,  as  a  brother ;  and 
you  may  sleep  tranquilly,  without  fear  of  the  Chip- 
pewas.  As  a  token  of  our  friendship,  we  present 
you  this  pipe  to  smoke.' 

"  As  Minavavana  uttered  these  words,  an  Indian 
presented  me  with  a  pipe,  which,  after  I  had  drawn 
the  smoke  three  times,  was  carried  to  the  chief, 
and  after  him  to  every  person  in  the  room.  This 
ceremony  ended,  the  chief  arose,  and  gave  me  his 
hand,  in  which  he  was  followed  by  all  the  rest."  ^ 

These  tokens  of  friendship  were  suitably  ac- 
knowledged by  the  trader,  who  made  a  formal 
reply  to  Minavavana's  speech.  To  this  succeeded 
a  request  for  whiskey  on  the  part  of  the  Indians, 

1  Henry,  Travels,  45. 


1761.]         RESOLUTION  OF  THE  THREE  TRADERS.  331 

with  which  Henry  unwillingly  complied  ;  and,  hav- 
ing distributed  several  small  additional  presents,  he 
beheld,  with  profound  satisfaction,  the  departure 
of  his  guests.  Scarcely  had  he  ceased  to  congratu- 
late himself  on  having  thus  got  rid  of  the  Ojibwas, 
or,  as  he  calls  them,  the  Chippewas,  when  a  more 
formidable  invasion  once  more  menaced  him  with 
destruction.  Two  hundred  L'Arbre  Croche  Otta- 
was  came  in  a  body  to  the  fort,  and  summoned 
Henry,  together  with  Goddard  and  Solomons,  two 
other  traders,  who  had  just  arrived,  to  meet  them 
in  council.  Here  they  informed  their  startled 
auditors  that  they  must  distribute  their  goods 
among  the  Indians,  adding  a  worthless  promise  to 
pay  them  in  the  spring,  and  threatening  force  in 
case  of  a  refusal.  Being  allowed  until  the  next 
morning  to  reflect  on  what  they  had  heard,  the 
traders  resolved  on  resistance,  and,  accordingly, 
arming  about  thirty  of  their  men  with  muskets, 
they  barricaded  themselves  in  the  house  occupied 
by  Henry,  and  kept  strict  watch  all  night.  The 
Ottawas,  however,  did  not  venture  an  attack.  On 
the  following  day,  the  Canadians,  with  pretended 
sympathy,  strongly  advised  compliance  with  the  de- 
mand ;  but  the  three  traders  resolutely  held  out,  and 
kept  possession  of  their  stronghold  till  night,  when, 
to  their  surprise  and  joy,  the  news  arrived  that  the 
body  of  troops  known  to  be  on  their  way  towards  the 
fort  were,  at  that  moment,  encamped  within  a  few 
miles  of  it.  Another  night  of  watching  and  anxiety 
succeeded  ;  but  at  sunrise,  the  Ottawas  launched 
their  canoes  and  departed,  while,  immediately  after, 


332  MICHILLIMACKINAC.  [1763. 

the  boats  of  the  English  detachment  were  seen 
to  approach  the  landing-place.  Michillimackinac 
received  a  strong  garrison ;  and  for  a  time,  at  least, 
the  traders  were  safe. 

Time  passed  on,  and  the  hostile  feelings  of  the 
Indians  towards  the  English  did  not  diminish.  It 
necessarily  follows,  from  the  extremely  loose  char- 
acter of  Indian  government,  —  if  indeed  the  name 
government  be  applicable  at  all,  —  that  the  sepa- 
rate members  of  the  same  tribe  have  little  political 
connection,  and  are  often  united  merely  by  the 
social  tie  of  totemship.  Thus  the  Ottawas  at 
LWrbre  Croche  were  quite  independent  of  those 
at  Detroit.  They  had  a  chief  of  their  own,  who  by 
no  means  acknowledged  the  authority  of  Pontiac, 
though  the  high  reputation  of  this  great  warrior 
everywhere  attached  respect  and  influence  to  his 
name.  The  same  relations  subsisted  between  the 
Ojibwas  of  Michillimackinac  and  their  more  south- 
ern tribesmen ;  and  the  latter  might  declare  war 
and  make  peace  without  at  all  involving  the  former. 

The  name  of  the  Ottawa  chief  at  L'Arbre  Croche 
has  not  survived  in  history  or  tradition.  The  chief 
of  the  Ojibwas,  however,  is  still  remembered  by  the 
remnants  of  his  people,  and  was  the  same  whom 
Henry  calls  Minavavana,  or,  as  the  Canadians 
entitled  him,  by  way  of  distinction,  Le  Grand 
SaiUeur,  or  the  Great  Ojibwa.  He  lived  in  the 
little  village  of  Thunder  Bay,  though  his  power 
was  acknowledged  b)  the  Indians  of  the  neighbor- 
ing islands.  That  his  mind  was  of  no  common 
order  is  suificiently  evinced  by  his  speech  to  Henry ; 


1763.]  PONTIAC  INVITES  AID.  >333 

but  he  had  not  the  commanding  spirit  of  Pontiac. 
His  influence  seems  not  to  have  extended  beyond 
his  own  tribe.  He  could  not,  or  at  least  he  did  not, 
control  the  erratic  forces  of  an  Indian  community, 
and  turn  them  into  one  broad  current  of  steady  and 
united  energy.  Hence,. in  the  events  about  to  be 
described,  the  natural  instability  of  the  Indian 
character  was  abundantly  displayed. 

In  the  spring  of  the  year  1763,  Pontiac,  in  com- 
passing his  grand  scheme  of  hostility,  sent,  among 
the  rest,  to  the  Indians  of  Michillimackinac,  invit- 
ing them  to  aid  him  in  the  war.  His  messengers, 
bearing  in  their  hands  the  war-belt  of  black  and 
purple  w^ampum,  appeared  before  the  assembled 
warriors,  flung  at  their  feet  a  hatchet  painted  red, 
and  delivered  the  speech  with  which  they  had  been 
charged.  The  w^arlike  auditory  answered  with 
ejaculations  of  applause,  and,  taking  up  the  blood- 
red  hatchet,  pledged  themselves  to  join  in  the  con- 
test. Before  the  end  of  May,  news  reached  the 
Ojibwas  that  Pontiac  had  already  struck  the  Eng- 
lish at  Detroit.  This  wrought  them  up  to  a  high 
pitch  of  excitement  and  emulation,  and  they 
resolved  that  peace  should  last  no  longer.  Their 
numbers  were  at  this  time  more  than  doubled  by 
several  bands  of  their  wandering  people,  who  had 
gathered  at  Michillimackinac  from  far  and  near, 
attracted  probably  by  rumors  of  impending  war. 
Being,  perhaps,  jealous  of  the  Ottawas,  or  willing 
to  gain  all  the  glory  and  plunder  to  themselves, 
they  determined  to  attack  the  fort,  without  com- 
municating the  design  to  their  neighbors  of  L'Arbre 
Croche. 


334  MICHILLIMACKINAC.  [1763. 

At  this  time  there  were  about  thirty-five  men, 
with  their  officers,  in  garrison  at  Michillimackinac.^ 
Warning  of  the  tempest  that  impended  had  been 
clearly  given ;  enough,  had  it  been  heeded,  to  have 
averted  the  fatal  disaster.  Several  of  the  Cana- 
dians least  hostile  to  the  English  had  thrown  out 
hints  of  approaching  danger,  and  one  of  them  had 
even  told  Captain  Etherington,  the  commandant, 
that  the  Indians  had  formed  a  design  to  destroy,  not 
only  his  garrison,  but  all  the  English  on  the  lakes. 
With  a  folly,  of  which,  at  this  period,  there  were 
several  parallel  instances  among  the  British  officers 
in  America,  Etherington  not  only  turned  a  deaf  ear 
to  what  he  heard,  but  threatened  to  send  prisoner 
to  Detroit  the  next  person  who  should  disturb  the 
fort  with  such  tidings.  Henry,  the  trader,  who 
was  at  this  time  in  the  place,  had  also  seen  occa- 
sion to  distrust  the  Indians ;  but  on  communicat- 
ing his  suspicions  to  the  commandant,  the  latter 
treated  them  with  total  disregard.  Henry  accuses 
himself  of  sharing  this  officer's  infatuation.  That 
his  person  was  in  danger,  had  been  plainly  inti- 
mated to  him,  under  the  following  curious  circum- 
stances :  — 

An  Ojibwa  chief,  named  Wawatam,  had  con- 
ceived for  him  one  of  those  friendly  attachments 
which  often  form  so  pleasing  a  feature  in  the  In- 
dian character.  It  was  about  a  year  since  Henry 
had  first  met  with  this  man.     One  morning,  Wa- 

i  This  appears  from  the  letters  of  Captain  Etherington.  Henry  states 
the  number  at  ninety.  It  is  not  unhkely  that  he  meant  to  include  all  the 
inhabitants  of  the  fort,  both  soldiers  and  Canadians,  in  his  enumeration. 


1763,  June.]  WARNINGS   OF  DANGER.  335 

watam  had  entered  his  house,  and  placing  before 
him,  on  the  ground,  a  large  present  of  furs  and 
dried  meat,  delivered  a  speech  to  the  following 
effect:  Early  in  life,  he  said,  he  had  withdrawn, 
after  the  ancient  usage  of  his  people,  to  fast  and 
pray  in  solitude,  that  he  might  propitiate  the  Great 
Spirit,  and  learn  the  future  career  marked  out  for 
him.  In  the  course  of  his  dreauis  and  visions  on 
this  occasion,  it  was  revealed  to  him  that,  in  after 
years,  he  should  meet  a  white  man,  who  should  be 
to  him  a  friend  and  brother.  No  sooner  had  he 
seen  Henry,  than  the  irrepressible  conviction  rose 
up  within  him,  that  he  was  the  man  whom  the 
Great  Spirit  had  indicated,  and  that  the  dream  was 
now  fulfilled.  Henry  replied  to  the  speech  with 
suitable  acknowledgments  of  gratitude,  made  a 
present  in  his  turn,  smoked  a  pipe  with  Wawatam, 
and,  as  the  latter  soon  after  left  the  fort,  speedily 
forgot  his  Indian  friend  and  brother  altogether. 
Many  months  had  elapsed  since  the  occurrence  of 
this  very  characteristic  incident,  when,  on  the 
second  of  June,  Henry's  door  was  pushed  open 
without  ceremony,  and  the  dark  figure  of  Wawa- 
tam glided  silently  in.  He  said  that  he  was  just 
returned  from  his  wintering  ground.  Henry,  at 
length  recollecting  him,  inquired  after  the  success 
of  his  hunt;  but  the  Indian,  without  replying,  sat 
down  with  a  dejected  air,  and  expressed  his  sur- 
prise and  regret  at  finding  his  brother  still  in  the 
fort.  He  said  that  he  was  going  on  the  next  day 
to  the  Sault  Ste.  Marie,  and  that  he  wished  Henry 
to  go  with  him.     He  then  asked  if  the  English  had 


336  MICHILLIMACKINAC.  [1763,  June. 

heard  no  bad  news,  and  said  that  through  the 
winter  he  himself  had  been  much  disturbed  by  the 
singing  of  evil  birds.  Seeing  that  Henry  gave 
little  attention  to  what  he  said,  he  at  length  went 
away  with  a  sad  and  mournful  face.  On  the  next 
morning  he  came  again,  together  with  his  squaw, 
and,  offering  the  trader  a  present  of  dried  meat, 
again  pressed  him  to  go  with  him,  in  the  afternoon, 
to  the  Sault  Ste.  Marie.  When  Henry  demanded 
his  reason  for  such  urgency,  he  asked  if  his  brother 
did  not  know  that  many  bad  Indians,  who  had 
never  shown  themselves  at  the  fort,  were  encamped 
in  the  woods  around  it.  To-morrow,  he  said,  they 
are  coming  to  ask  for  whiskey,  and  would  all  get 
drunk,  so  that  it  would  be  dangerous  to  remain. 
Wawatam  let  fall,  in  addition,  various  other  hints, 
which,  but  for  Henry's  imperfect  knowledge  of  the 
Algonquin  language,  could  hardly  have  failed  to 
draw  his  attention.  As  it  was,  however,  his  friend's 
words  were  spoken  in  vain ;  and  at  length,  after 
long  and  persevering  efforts,  he  and  his  squaw 
took  their  departure,  but  not,  as  Henry  declares, 
before  each  had  let  fall  some  tears.  Among  the 
Indian  women,  the  practice  of  weeping  and  wailing 
is  universal  upon  all  occasions  of  sorrowful  emo- 
tion ;  and  the  kind-hearted  squaw,  as  she  took 
down  her  husband's  lodge,  and  loaded  his  canoe 
for  departure,  did  not  cease  to  sob  and  moan  aloud. 
On  this  same  afternoon,  Henry  remembers  that 
the  fort  was  full  of  Indians,  moving  about  among 
the  soldiers  with  a  great  appearance  of  friendship. 
Many  of  them   came   to   his  house,  to   purchase 


1763,  June.]  EVE   OF  THE   MASSACRE.  337 

knives  and  small  hatchets,  often  asking  to  see  silver 
bracelets,  and  other  ornaments,  with  the  intention, 
as  afterwards  appeared,  of  learning  their  places  of 
deposit,  in  order  the  more  easily  to  lay  hand  on 
them  at  the  moment  of  pillage.  As  the  afternoon 
drew  to  a  close,  the  visitors  quietly  went  away ; 
and  many  of  the  unhappy  garrison  saw  for  the  last 
time  the  sun  go  down  behind  the  waters  of  Lake 
Michigan. 


CHAPTER    XVII. 

1763. 
THE  MASSACRE. 

The  following  morning  was  warm  and  sultry.  It 
was  the  fourth  of  June,  the  birthday  of  King 
George.  The  discipline  of  the  garrison  was  re- 
laxed, and  some  license  allowed  to  the  soldiers.* 
Encamped  in  the  woods,  not  far  off,  were  a  large 
number  of  Ojibwas,  lately  arrived  ;  while  several 
bands  of  the  Sac  Indians,  from  the  River  Wiscon- 
sin, had  also  erected  their  lodges  in  the  vicinity. 
Early  in  the  morning,  many  Ojibwas  came  to  the 
fort,  inviting  officers  and  soldiers  to  come  out  and 
see  a  grand  game  of  ball,  which  was  to  be  played 
between  their  nation  and  the  Sacs.  In  consequence, 
the  place  was  soon  deserted  by  half  its  tenants. 
An  outline  of  Michillimackinac,  as  far  as  tradition 
has  preserved  its  general  features,  has  already  been 
given  ;  and  it  is  easy  to  conceive,  with  sufficient 
accuracy,  the  appearance  it  must  have  presented 
on  this  eventful  morning.  The  houses  and  bar- 
racks were  so  ranged  as  to  form  a  quadrangle,  en- 
closing an  extensive  area,  upon  which  their  doors 

1  The  above  is  Henry's  date.     Etherington  says,  the  second. 


1763,  June.]  INDIAN  BALL  PLAY.  339 

all  opened,  while  behind  rose  the  tall  palisades, 
forming  a  large  external  square.  The  picturesque 
Canadian  houses,  with  their  rude  porticoes,  and 
projecting  roofs  of  bark,  sufficiently  indicated  the 
occupations  of  their  inhabitants  ;  for  birch  canoes 
were  lying  near  many  of  them,  and  fishing-nets 
were  stretched  to  dry  in  the  sun.  Women  and 
children  were  moving  about  the  doors  ;  knots  of 
Canadian  voyageurs  reclined  on  the  ground,  smok- 
ing and  conversing ;  soldiers  were  lounging  list- 
lessly at  the  doors  and  windows  of  the  barracks, 
or  strolling  in  careless  undress  about  the  area. 

Without  the  fort  the  scene  was  of  a  very  diifer- 
ent  character.  The  gates  were  wide  open,  and 
soldiers  were  collected  in  groups  under  the  shadow 
of  the  palisades,  watching  the  Indian  ball  play. 
Most  of  them  were  without  arms,  and  mingled 
among  them  were  a  great  number  of  Canadians, 
while  a  multitude  of  Indian  squaws,  wrapped  in 
blankets,  were  conspicuous  in  the  crowd. 

Captain  Etherington  and  Lieutenant  Leslie  stood 
near  the  gate,  the  former  indulging  his  inveterate 
English  propensity  ;  for,  as  Henry  informs  us,  he 
had  promised  the  Ojibwas  that  he  would  bet  on 
their  side  against  the  Sacs.  Indian  chiefs  and  war- 
riors were  also  among  the  spectators,  intent,  appar- 
ently, oil  watching  the  game,  but  with  thoughts, 
in  fact,  far  otherwise  employed. 

The  plain  in  front  was  covered  by  the  ball- 
players. The  game  in  which  they  were  engaged, 
called  haggaUaway  by  the  Ojibwas,  is  still,  as  it 
always   has   been,    a   favorite    with   many   Indian 


340  THE  MASSACRE.  [1763,  June. 

tribes.  At  either  extremity  of  the  ground,  a  tall 
post  was  planted,  marking  the  stations  of  the  rival 
parties.  The  object  of  each  was  to  defend  its  own 
post,  and  drive  the  ball  to  that  of  its  adversary. 
Hundreds  of  lithe  and  agile  figures  were  leaping 
and  bounding  upon  the  plain.  Each  was  nearly 
naked,  his  loose  black  hau'  flying  in  the  wind,  and 
each  bore  in  his  hand  a  bat  of  a  form  peculiar  to 
this  game.  At  one  moment  the  whole  were  crowded 
together,  a  dense  throng  of  combatants,  all  strug- 
gling for  the  ball ;  at  the  next,  they  were  scattered 
again,  and  running  over  the  ground  like  hounds 
in  full  cry.  Each,  in  his  excitement,  yelled  and 
shouted  at  the  height  of  his  voice.  Rushing  and 
striking,  tripping  their  adversaries,  or  hurling  them 
to  the  ground,  they  pursued  the  animating  contest 
amid  the  laughter  and  applause  of  the  spectators. 
Suddenly,  from  the  midst  of  the  multitude,  the  ball 
soared  into  the  air,  and,  descending  in  a  wide 
curve,  fell  near  the  pickets  of  the  fort.  This  was 
no  chance  stroke.  It  was  part  of  a  preconcerted 
stratagem  to  insure  the  surprise  and  destruction  of 
the  garrison.  As  if  in  pursuit  of  the  ball,  the 
players  turned  and  came  rushing,  a  maddened  and 
tumultuous  throng,  towards  the  gate.  In*  a  moment 
they  had  reached  it.  The  amazed  English  had  no 
time  to  think  or  act.  The  shrill  cries  of  the  ball- 
players were  changed  to  the  ferocious  war-whoop. 
The  warriors  snatched  from  the  squaws  the  hatch- 
ets, which  the  latter,  with  this  design,  had  concealed 
beneath  their  blankets.  Some  of  the  Indians  as- 
sailed the  spectators  without,  while  others  rushed 


1763,  June.]      ESCAPE   OF  ALEXANDER  HENRY.  341 

into  the  fort,  and  all  was  carnage  and  confusion. 
At  the  outset,  several  strong  hands  had  fastened 
their  gripe  upon  Etherington  and  Leslie,  and  led 
them  away  from  the  scene  of  massacre  towards  the 
woods. ^  Within  the  area  of  the  fort,  the  men  were 
slaughtered  without  mercy.  But  here  the  task  of 
description  may  well  be  resigned  to  the  pen  of  the 
trader,  Henry. 

"  I  did  not  go  myself  to  see  the  match  which  was 
now  to  be  played  without  the  fort,  because,  there 
being  a  canoe  prepared  to  depart  on  the  following 
day  for  Montreal,  1  employed  myself  in  writing 
letters  to  my  friends  ;  and  even  when  a  fellow- 
trader,  Mr.  Tracy,  happened  to  call  upon  me,  say- 
ing that  another  canoe  had  just  arrived  from 
Detroit,  and  proposing  that  I  should  go  with  him 
to  the  beach,  to  inquire  the  news,  it  so  happened 
that  I  still  remained  to  finish  my  letters  ;  promising 
to  follow  Mr.  Tracy  in  the  course  of  a  few  minutes. 
Mr.  Tracy  had  not  gone  more  than  twenty  paces 
from  my  door,  when  I  heard  an  Indian  war-cry, 
and  a  noise  of  general  confusion. 

"  Going  instantly  to  my  window^,  I  saw  a  crowd 
of  Indians,  within  the  fort,  furiously  cutting  down 
and  scalping  every  Englishman  they  found :  in 
particular,  I  witnessed  the  fate  of  Lieutenant 
Jamette. 

"  I  had,  in  the  room  in  which  I  was,  a  fowling- 
piece,  loaded  with  swan  shot.  This  I  immediately 
seized,  and  held  it  for  a  few  minutes,  waiting 
to  hear  the  drum  beat  to  arms.     In  this  dreadful 

1  MS.  Letter  —  Etherington  to  Gladwyn,  June  12.     See  Appendix,  C. 


342  THE   MASSACRE.  [1763,  June. 

interval  I  saw  several  of  my  countrymen  fall,  and 
more  than  one  struggling  between  the  knees  of  an 
Indian,  who,  holding  him  in  this  manner,  scalped 
him  while  yet  living. 

"  At  length,  disappointed  in  the  hope  of  seeing 
resistance  made  to  the  enemy,  and  sensible,  of 
course,  that  no  effort  of  my  own  unassisted  arm 
could  avail  against  four  hundred  Indians,  I  thought 
only  of  seeking  shelter  amid  the  slaughter  which 
was  raging.  I  observed  many  of  the  Canadian 
inhabitants  of  the  fort  calmly  looking  on,  neither 
opposing  the  Indians  nor  suffering  injury  ;  and 
from  this  circumstance,  I  conceived  a  hope  of  find- 
ing security  in  their  houses. 

"  Between  the  yard  door  of  my  own  house  and 
that  of  M.  Langlade,^  my  next  neighbor,  there  was 
only  a  low  fence,  over  which  I  easily  climbed.  At 
my  entrance,  I  found  the  whole  family  at  the  win- 
dows, gazing  at  the  scene  of  blood  before  them. 
I  addressed  myself  immediately  to  M.  Langlade, 
begging  that  he  would  put  me  into  some  place  of 
safety  until  the  heat  of  the  affair  should  be  over  ; 
an  act  of  charity  by  which  he  might,  perhaps,  pre- 
serve me  from  the  general  massacre ;  but  while  I 
uttered  my  petition,  M.  Langlade,  who  had  looked 
for  a  moment  at  me,  turned  again  to  the  window, 

1  Charles  Langlade,  who  is  praised  by  Etherington,  though  spoken 
of  in  equivocal  terms  by  Henry,  was  the  son  of  a  Frenchman  of  good 
family  and  an  Ottawa  squaw.  He  was  born  at  Mackinaw  in  1724,  and 
served  with  great  reputation  as  a  partisan  officer  in  the  old  French  war. 
He  and  his  father,  Augustin  Langlade,  were  the  first  permanent  settlers 
within  the  present  State  of  Wisconsin.  He  is  said  to  have  saved  Ether- 
ington and  Leslie  from  the  torture.  See  the  Recollections  ofAngiistin  Grig- 
nan,  his  grandson,  in  Collections  of  the  Hist.  Soc.  of  Wisconsin,  III.  197. 


1763,  June.]       ESCAPE  OF  ALEXANDER  HENRY.  343 

shriio^oriiio^  his  shoulders,  and  intimating  that  he 
could  do  nothing  for  me  — '  Que  voudriez-vous 
que  fen  ferais  ? ' 

"  This  was  a  moment  for  despair  ;  but  the  next  a 
Pani^  woman,  a  slave  of  M.  Langlade's,  beckoned 
me  to  follow  her.  vShe  brought  me  to  a  door, 
which  she  opened,  desiring  me  to  enter,  and  telling 
me  that  it  led  to  the  garret,  where  I  must  go  and 
conceal  myself.  I  joyfully  obeyed  her  directions  ; 
and  she,  having  followed  me  up  to  the  garret  door, 
locked  it  after  me,  and,  with  great  presence  of 
mind,  took  away  the  key. 

"  This  shelter  obtained,  if  shelter  I  could  hope 
to  find  it,  I  was  naturally  anxious  to  know  what 
might  still  be  passing  without.  Through  an  aper- 
ture, which  afforded  me  a  view  of  the  area  of  the 
fort,  I  beheld,  in  shapes  the  foulest  and  most  ter- 
rible, the  ferocious  triumphs  of  barbarian  conquer- 
ors. The  dead  were  scalped  and  mangled  ;  the 
dying  were  writhing  and  shrieking  under  the  unsa- 
tiated  knife  and  tomahawk ;  and  from  the  bodies 
of  some,  ripped  open,  their  butchers  were  drinking 
the  blood,  scooped  up  in  the  hollow  of  joined  hands, 
and  quaffed  amid  shouts  of  rage  and  victory.  I 
was  shaken  not  only  with  horror,  but  with  fear. 
The  sufferings  which  I  witnessed  I  seemed  on  the 
point  of  experiencing.    No  long  time  elapsed  before 

1  This  name  is  commonly  written  Pawnee.  The  tribe  who  bore  it  lived 
west  of  the  Mississippi.  They  were  at  war  with  many  surrounding 
nations,  and,  among  the  rest,  with  the  Sacs  and  Foxes,  who  often  brought 
their  prisoners  to  the  French  settlements  for  sale.  It  thus  happened  that 
Pawnee  slaves  were  to  be  found  in  the  principal  families  of  Detroit  and 
Michillimackinac. 


344  THE   MASSACRE.  [1763,  June. 

every  one  being  destroyed  who  could  be  found, 
there  was  a  general  cry  of  '  All  is  finished.'  At 
the  same  instant  I  heard  some  of  the  Indians  enter 
the  house  where  I  was. 

"  The  garret  was  separated  from  the  room  below 
only  by  a  layer  of  single  boards,  at  once  the  floor- 
ing of  the  one  and  the  ceiling  of  the  other.  I 
could,  therefore,  hear  every  thing  that  passed  ;  and 
the  Indians  no  sooner  came  in  than  they  inquired 
whether  or  not  any  Englishmen  were  in  the  house. 
M.  Langlade  replied,  that  'he  could  not  say,  he 
did  not  know  of  any,'  answers  in  which  he  did  not 
exceed  the  truth  ;  for  the  Pani  v^oman  had  not 
only  hidden  me  by  stealth,  but  kept  my  secret  and 
her  own.  M.  Langlade  was,  therefore,  as  I  pre- 
sume, as  far  from  a  wish  to  destroy  me  as  he  was 
careless  about  saving  me,  when  he  added  to  these 
answers,  that  '  they  might  examine  for  themselves, 
and  would  soon  be  satisfied  as  to  the  object  of  their 
question.'  Saying  this,  he  brought  them  to  the 
garret  door. 

"  The  state  of  my  mind  will  be  imagined.  Ar- 
rived at  the  door,  some  delay  Avas  occasioned  by 
the  absence  of  the  key  ;  and  a  few  moments  were 
thus  allowed  me,  in  which  to  look  around  for  a 
hiding-place.  In  one  corner  of  the  garret  was  a 
heap  of  those  vessels  of  birch  bark  used  in  maple- 
sugar  making. 

"  The  door  was  unlocked  and  opening,  and  the 
Indians  ascending  the  stairs,  before  I  had  com- 
pletely crept  into  a  small  opening  which  presented 
itself  at  one  end  of  the  heap.     An  instant  after, 


1763,  JuNE.J      ESCAPE  OF  ALEXANDER  HENRY.  345 

four  Indians  entered  the  room,  all  armed  with 
tomahawks,  and  all  besmeared  with  blood,  upon 
every  part  of  their  bodies. 

"  The  die  appeared  to  be  cast.  I  could  scarcely 
breathe  ;  but  I  thought  the  throbbing  of  my  heart 
occasioned  a  noise  loud  enough  to  betray  me.  The 
Indians  walked  in  every  direction  about  the  garret ; 
and  one  of  them  approached  me  so  closely,  that,  at 
a  particular  moment  had  he  put  forth  his  hand,  he 
must  have  touched  me.  Still  I  remained  undiscov- 
ered ;  a  circumstance  to  which  the  dark  color  of 
my  clothes,  and  the  want  of  light,  in  a  room  which 
had  no  window  in  the  corner  in  which  I  was,  must 
have  contributed.  In  a  word,  after  taking  several 
turns  in  the  room,  during  which  they  told  M.  Lang- 
lade how  many  they  had  killed,  and  how  many 
scalps  they  had  taken,  they  returned  downstairs  ; 
and  I,  with  sensations  not  to  be  expressed,  heard 
the  door,  which  was  the  barrier  between  me  and 
my  fate,  locked  for  the  second  time. 

"  There  was  a  feather  bed  on  the  floor  ;  and  on 
this,  exhausted  as  I  was  by  the  •  agitation  of  my 
mind,  I  threw  myself  down  and  fell  asleep.  In 
this  state  I  remained  till  the  dusk  of  the  evening, 
w^hen  I  was  awakened  by  a  second  opening  of  the 
door.  The  person  that  now  entered  was  M.  Lang- 
lade's wife,  who  was  much  surprised  at  finding  me, 
but  advised  me  not  to  be  uneasy,  observing  that  the 
Indians  had  killed  most  of  the  English,  but  that 
she  hoped  I  might  myself  escape.  A  shower  of 
rain  having  begun  to  fall,  she  had  come  to  stop  a 
hole  in  the  roof.     On  her  going  away,  I  begged 


346  THE  MASSACRE.  [1763,  June. 

her  to  send  me  a  little  water  to  drink,  which  she 
did. 

"  As  night  was  now  advancing,  I  continued  to 
lie  on  the  bed,  ruminating  on  my  condition,  but 
unable  to  discover  a  resource  from  which  I  could 
hope  for  life.  A  flight  to  Detroit  had  no  probable 
chance  of  success.  The  distance  from  Michilli- 
mackinac  was  four  hundred  miles  ;  I  was  without 
provisions,  and  the  whole  length  of  the  road  lay 
through  Indian  countries,  countries  of  an  enemy 
in  arms,  where  the  first  man  whom  I  should  meet 
would  kill  me.  To  stay  where  I  was,  threatened 
nearly  the  same  issue.  As  before,  fatigue  of  mind, 
and  not  tranquillity,  suspended  my  cares,  and  pro- 
cured me  farther  sleep. 

"  The  respite  which  sleep  afforded  me  during 
the  night  was  put  an  end  to  by  the  return  of  morn- 
ing. 1  was  again  on  the  rack  of  apprehension. 
At  sunrise,  I  heard  the  family  stirring ;  and,  pres- 
ently after,  Indian  voices,  informing  M.  Langlade 
that  they  had  not  found  my  hapless  self  among 
the  dead,  and  they  supposed  me  to  be  somewhere 
concealed.  M.  Langlade  appeared,  from  what 
followed,  to  be,  by  this  time,  acquainted  with  the 
place  of  my  retreat ;  of  which,  no  doubt,  he  had 
been  informed  by  his  wife.  The  poor  w^oman,  as 
soon  as  the  Lidians  mentioned  me,  declared  to  her 
husband,  in  the  French  tongue,  that  he  should  no 
longer  keep  me  in  his  house,  but  deliver  me  up 
to  my  pursuers ;  giving  as  a  reason  for  this  meas- 
ure, that,  should  the  Indians  discover  his  instru- 
mentality in  my  concealment,  they  might  revenge 


1763,  June.]       ESCAPE  OF  ALEXANDER  IIENEY.  347 

it  on  her  children,  and  that  it  was  better  that  I 
should  die  than  they.  M.  Langlade  resisted,  at 
first,  this  sentence  of  his  wife,  but  soon  suffered 
her  to  prevail,  informing  the  Indians  that  he  had 
been  told  I  was  in  his  house ;  that  I  had  come 
there  without  his  knowledge,  and  that  he  would 
put  me  into  their  hands.  This  was  no  soonei 
expressed  than  he  began  to  ascend  the  stairs,  the 
Indians  following  upon  his  heels. 

"  I  now  resigned  myself  to  the  fate  with  which 
I  was  menaced ;  and,  regarding  every  effort  at 
concealment  as  vain,  I  rose  from  the  bed,  and 
presented  myself  full  in  view  to  the  Indians,  who 
were  entering  the  room.  They  were  all  in  a  state 
of  intoxication,  and  entirely  naked,  except  about 
the  middle.  One  of  them,  named  Wenniway, 
whom  I  had  previously  known,  and  who  was 
upwards  of  six  feet  in  height,  had  his  entire  face 
and  body  covered  with  charcoal  and  grease,  only 
that  a  white  spot,  of  two  inches  in  diameter,  encir- 
cled either  eye.  This  man,  walking  up  to  me, 
seized  me,  with  one  hand,  by  the  collar  of  the  coat, 
while  in  the  other  he  held  a  large  carving-knife,  as 
if  to  plunge  it  into  my  breast ;  his  eyes,  meanwhile, 
were  fixed  steadfastly  on  mine.  At  length,  after 
some  seconds  of  the  most  anxious  suspense,  he 
dropped  his  arm,  saying,  '  I  won't  kill  you ! '  To 
this  he  added,  that  he  had  been  frequently  engaged 
in  wars  against  the  English,  and  had  brought  away 
many  scalps  ;  that,  on  a  certain  occasion,  he  had 
lost  a  brother,  whose  name  was  Musinigon,  and  that 
I  should  be  called  after  him. 


348  THE  MASSACRE.  [1763,  June. 

"  A  reprieve,  upon  any  terms,  placed  me  among 
the  living,  and  gave  me  back  the  sustaining  voice 
of  hope ;  but  Wenniway  ordered  me  downstairs, 
and  there  informing  me  that  I  was  to  be  taken  to 
his  cabin,  where,  and  indeed  everywhere  else,  the 
Indians  were  all  mad  with  liquor,  death  again  was 
threatened,  and  not  as  possible  only,  but  as  certain. 
I  mentioned  my  fears  on  this  subject  to  M.  Langlade, 
begging  him  to  represent  the  danger  to  my  master. 
M.  Langlade,  in  this  instance,  did  not  withhold  his 
compassion ;  and  Wenniway  immediately  consented 
that  I  should  remain  where  I  was,  until  he  found 
another  opportunity  to  take  me  away." 

Scarcely,  however,  had  he  been  gone  an  hour, 
when  an  Indian  came  to  the  house,  and  directed 
Henry  to  follow  him  to  the  Ojibwa  camp.  Henry 
knew  this  man,  who  was  largely  in  his  debt,  and 
some  time  before,  on  the  trader's  asking  him  for 
payment,  the  Indian  had  declared,  in  a  significant 
tone,  that  he  would  pay  him  soon.  There  seemed 
at  present  good  ground  to  suspect  his  intention ; 
but,  having  no  choice,  Henry  was  obliged  to  follow 
him.  The  Indian  led  the  way  out  of  the  gate  ; 
but,  instead  of  going  towards  the  camp,  he  moved 
with  a  quick  step  in  the  direction  of  the  bushes 
and  sand-hills  behind  the  fort.  At  this,  Henry's 
suspicions  were  confirmed.  He  refused  to  proceed 
farther,  and  plainly  told  his  conductor  that  he 
believed  he  meant  to  kill  him.  The  Indian  coolly 
replied  that  he  was  quite  right  in  thinking  so,  and 
at  the  same  time,  seizing  the  prisoner  by  the  arm, 
raised  his  knife  to  strike  him  in  the  breast.     Henry 


17G3,  JcNE.]  ADVENTURES   OF  HENRY.  349 

parried  the  blow,  flung  the  Indian  from  him, 
and  ran  for  his  hfe.  He  gained  the  gate  of  the 
fort,  his  enemy  close  at  his  heels,  and,  seeing  Wen- 
niway  standing  in  the  centre  of  the  area,  called 
upon  him  for  protection.  The  chief  ordered  the 
Indian  to  desist ;  but  the  latter,  who  was  foaming 
at  the  mouth  with  rage,  still  continued  to  pursue 
Henry,  vainly  striking  at  him  with  his  knife.  See- 
ing the  door  of  Langlade's  house  wide  open,  the 
trader  darted  in,  and  at  length  found  himself  in 
safety.  He  retired  once  more  to  his  garret,  and  lay 
down,  feeling,  as  he  declares,  a  sort  of  conviction 
that  no  Indian  had  power  to  harm  him. 

This  confidence  was  somewhat  shaken  when, 
early  in  the  night,  he  was  startled  from  sleep  by 
the  opening  of  the  door.  A  light  gleamed  in  upon 
him,  and  he  was  summoned  to  descend.  He  did 
so,  when,  to  his  surprise  and  joy,  he  found,  in 
the  room  below.  Captain  Etherington,  Lieutenant 
Leslie,  and  Mr.  Bostwick,  a  trader,  together  with 
Father  Jonois,  the  Jesuit  priest  from  L'Arbre 
Croche.  The  Indians  w^ere  bent  on  enjoying  that 
night  a  grand  debauch  upon  the  liquor  they  had 
seized  ;  and  the  chiefs,  well  knowing  the  extreme 
danger  to  which  the  prisoners  would  be  exposed 
during  these  revels,  had  conveyed  them  all  into  the 
fort,  and  placed  them  in  charge  of  the  Canadians. 

Including  officers,  soldiers,  and  traders,  they 
amounted  to  about  twenty  men,  being  nearly  all 
who  had  escaped  the  massacre. 

When  Henry  entered  the  room,  he  found  his 
three  companions  in  misfortune  engaged  in  anxious 


350  THE  MASSACRE.  [1763,  June. 

debate.  These  men  had  supped  full  of  horrors  ; 
yet  they  were  almost  on  the  pomt  of  risking  a 
renewal  of  the  bloodshed  from  which  they  had 
just  escaped.  The  temptation  was  a  strong  one. 
The  fort  was  this  evening  actually  in  the  hands  of 
the  white  men.  The  Indians,  with  their  ordinary 
recklessness  and  improvidence,  had  neglected  even 
to  place  a  guard  within  the  palisades.  They  were 
now,  one  and  all,  in  their  camp,  mad  with  liquor, 
and  the  fort  was  occupied  by  twenty  Englishmen, 
and  about  three  hundred  Canadians,  principally 
voyageurs.  To  close  the  gates,  and  set  the  Indians 
at  defiance,  seemed  no  very  difficult  matter.  It 
might  have  been  attempted,  but  for  the  dissuasions 
of  the  Jesuit,  who  had  acted  throughout  the  part 
of  a  true  friend  of  humanity,  and  who  now  strongly 
represented  the  probability  that  the  Canadians  would 
prove  treacherous,  and  the  certainty  that  a  failure 
would  involve  destruction  to  every  Englishman  in 
the  place.  The  idea  was  therefore  abandoned, 
and  Captain  Etherington,  with  his  companions, 
that  night  shared  Henry's  garret,  where  they 
passed  the  time  in  condoling  with  each  other  on 
their  common  misfortune. 

A  party  of  Indians  came  to  the  house  in  the 
morning,  and  ordered  Henry  to  follow  them  out. 
The  weather  had  changed,  and  a  cold  storm  had 
set  in.  In  the  dreary  and  forlorn  area  of  the  fort 
were  a  few  of  the  Indian  conquerors,  though  the 
main  body  were  still  in  their  camp,  not  yet  recov- 
ered from  the  effects  of  their  last  night's  carouse. 
Henry's  conductors  led  him  to  a  house,  where,  in  a 


1763,  June.]     INTERVENTION   OF   THE   OTTAWAS.  351 

rooQi  almost  dark,  he  saw  two  traders  and  a  soldier 
imprisoned.  They  were  released,  and  directed  to 
follow  the  party.  The  whole  then  proceeded 
together  to  the  lake  shore,  where  they  were  to 
emhark  for  the  Isles  du  Castor.  A  chilling  wind 
blew  strongly  from  the  north-east,  and  the  lake 
was  covered  with  mists,  and  tossing  angrily.  Henry 
stood  shivering  on  the  beach,  with  no  other  upper 
garment  than  a  shirt,  drenched  with  the  cold  rain. 
He  asked  Langlade,  who  was  near  him,  for  a 
blanket,  which  the  latter  refused  unless  security 
were  given  for  payment.  Another  Canadian  proved 
more  merciful,  and  Henry  received  a  covering  from 
the  weather.  With  his  three  companions,  guarded 
by  seven  Indians,  he  embarked  in  the  canoe,  the 
soldier  being  tied  by  his  neck  to  one  of  the  cross- 
bars of  the  vessel.  The  thick  mists  and  the  tem- 
pestuous weather  compelled  them  to  coast  the 
shore,  close  beneath  the  wet  dripping  forests.  In 
this  manner  they  had  proceeded  about  eighteen 
miles,  and  were  approaching  L'Arbre  Croche,  when 
an  Ottawa  Indian  came  out  of  the  woods,  and  called 
to  them  from  the  beach,  inquiring  the  news,  and 
asking  who  were  their  prisoners.  Some  conversa- 
tion followed,  in  the  course  of  which  the  canoe 
approached  the  shore,  where  the  water  was  very 
shallow.  All  at  once,  a  loud  yell  was  heard,  and  a 
hundred  Ottawas,  rising  from  among  the  trees  and 
bushes,  rushed  into  the  water,  and  seized  upon  the 
canoe  and  prisoners.  The  astonished  Ojibwaa 
remonstrated  in  vain.  The  four  Englishmen  were 
taken  from   them,  and  led  in  safety  to  the  shore. 


352  THE  MASSACRE.  [1763,  June. 

Good  will  to  the  prisoners,  however,  had  by  no 
means  prompted  the  Ottawas  to  this  very  unex- 
pected proceeding.  They  were  jealous  and  angry 
that  the  Ojibwas  should  have  taken  the  fort  with- 
out giving  them  an  opportunity  to  share  in  the 
plunder ;  and  they  now  took  this  summary  mode 
of  asserting  their  rights. 

The  chiefs,  however,  shook  Henry  and  his  com- 
panions by  the  hand,  professing  great  good  will, 
assuring  them,  at  the  same  time,  that  the  Ojibwas 
were  carrying  them  to  the  Isles  du  Castor  merely 
to  kill  and  eat  them.  The  four  prisoners,  the 
sport  of  so  many  changing  fortunes,  soon  found 
themselves  embarked  in  an  Ottawa  canoe,  and  on 
their  way  back  to  Michillimackinac.  They  were 
not  alone.  A  flotilla  of  canoes  accompanied  them, 
bearing  a  great  number  of  Ottawa  warriors  ;  and 
before  the  day  was  over,  the  whole  had  arrived  at 
the  fort.  At  this  time,  the  principal  Ojibwa 
encampment  was  near  the  woods,  in  full  sight 
of  the  landing-place.  Its  occupants,  astonished  at 
this  singular  movement  on  the  part  of  their  rivals, 
stood  looking  on  in  silent  amazement,  while  the 
Ottawa  warriors,  well  armed,  filed  into  the  fort,  and 
took  possession  of  it. 

This  conduct  is  not  difficult  to  explain,  when  we 
take  into  consideration  the  peculiarities  of  the  Indi- 
an character.  Pride  and  jealousy  are  always  strong 
and  active  elements  in  it.  The  Ottawas  deemed 
themselves  insulted  because  the  Ojibwas  had  under- 
taken an  enterprise  of  such  importance  without 
consulting  them,  or  asking  their  assistance.     It  may 


1763,  June.]  SPEECH  OF  MINAVAVANA.  353 

be  added,  that  the  Indians  of  L'Arbre  Croche  were 
somewhat  less  hostile  to  the  English  than  the 
neighboring  tribes  ;  for  the  great  influence  of  tlie 
priest  Jonois  seems  always  to  have  been  exerted 
on  the  side  of  peace. 

The  English  prisoners  looked  upon  the  new- 
comers as  champions  and  protectors,  and  conceived 
hopes  from  their  interference  not  destined  to  be 
fully  realized.  On  the  morning  after  their  arrival, 
the  Ojibw^a  chiefs  invited  the  principal  men  of  the 
Ottawas  to  hold  a  council  with  them,  in  a  building 
within  the  fort.  They  placed  upon  the  floor  a  val- 
uable present  of  goods,  which  were  part  of  the 
plunder  they  had  taken  ;  and  their  great  war-chief, 
Minavavana,  who  had  conducted  the  attack,  rose 
and  addressed  the  Ottawas. 

Their  conduct,  he  said,  had  greatly  surprised 
him.  They  had  betrayed  the  common  cause,  and 
opposed  the  wdll  of  the  Great  Spirit,  who  had  de- 
creed that  every  Englishman  must  die.  Excepting 
them,  all  the  Indians  had  raised  the  hatchet.  Pon- 
tiac  had  taken  Detroit,  and  every  other  fort  had 
also  been  destroyed.  The  English  were  meeting 
with  destruction  throughout  the  whole  world,  and 
the  King  of  France  was  awakened  from  his  sleep. 
He  exhorted  them,  in  conclusion,  no  longer  to 
espouse  the  cause  of  the  English,  but,  like  their 
brethren,  to  lift  the  hatchet  against  them. 

When  Minavavana  had  concluded  his  speech,  the 
council  adjourned  until  the  next  day  ;  a  custom 
common  among  Indians,  in  order  that  the  auditors 
may   have   time  to   ponder   with  due   deliberation 

23 


354  THE  MASSACRE.  [1763,  June. 

upon  what  they  have  heard.  At  the  next  meeting, 
the  Ottawas  expressed  a  readiness  to  concur  With 
the  views  of  the  Ojibwas.  Thus  the  difference 
between  the  two  tribes  was  at  length  amicably  ad- 
justed. The  Ottawas  returned  to  the  Ojibwas  some 
of  the  prisoners  whom  they  had  taken  from  them ; 
still,  however,  retaining  the  officers  and  several  of 
the  soldiers.  These  they  soon  after  carried  to 
L'Arbre  Croche,  where  they  were  treated  with 
kindness,  probably  owing  to  the  influence  of  Fa- 
ther Jonois.^  The  priest  went  down  to  Detroit 
with  a  letter  from  Captain  Etherington,  acquaint- 
ing Major  Gladwyn  with  the  loss  of  MichilUmack- 
inac,  and  entreating  that  a  force  might  be  sent 
immediately  to  his  aid.  The  letter,  as  we  have 
seen,  was  safely  delivered ;  but  Gladwyn  was,  of 
course,  unable  to  render  the  required  assistance. 

Though  the  Ottawas  and  Ojibwas  had  come  to 
terms,  they  still  looked  on  each  other  with  distrust, 
and  it  is  said  that  the  former  never  forgot  the 
slight  that  had  been  put  upon  them.  The  Ojibwas 
took  the  prisoners  who  had  been  returned  to  them 
from  the  fort,  and  carried  them  to  one  of  their 
small  villages,  which  stood  near  the  shore,  at  no 
great  distance  to  the  south-east.  Among  the  other 
lodges  was  a  large  one,  of  the  kind  often  seen  in 
Indian  villages,  erected  for  use  on  public  occasions, 
such  as  dances,  feasts,  or  councils.  It  was  now 
to  serve  as  a  prison.  The  soldiers  were  bound 
together,  two  and  two,  and  farther  secured  by  long 
ropes  tied  round  their  necks,  and  fastened  to  the 
pole   which   supported   the   lodge  in   the    centre. 

1  MS.  Letter  —  Etherington  to  Gladwyn,  June  28. 


1763,  June.]  SPEECH  OF  WAWATAM.  355 

Henry  and  the  other  traders  escaped  this  ngorous 
treatment.  The  spacious  lodge  was  soon  filled 
with  Indians,  who  came  to  look  at  their  captives, 
and  gratify  themselves  by  deriding  and  jeering  at 
them.  At  the  head  of  the  lodge  sat  the  great  war- 
chief  Minavavana,  side  by  side  with  Henry's  master, 
Wenniway.  Things  had  remained  for  some  time 
in  this  position,  when  Henry  observed  an  Indian 
stooping  to  enter  at  the  low  aperture  which  served 
for  a  door,  and,  to  his  great  joy,  recognized  his 
friend  and  brother,  Wawatam,  whom  he  had  last 
seen  on  the  day  before  the  massacre.  Wawatam 
said  nothing  ;  but,  as  he  passed  the  trader,  he 
shook  him  by  the  hand,  m  token  of  encouragement, 
and,  proceeding  to  the  head  of  the  lodge,  sat  down 
with  Wenniway  and  the  war-chief  iVfter  he  had 
smoked  with  them  for  a  while  in  silence,  he  rose 
and  went  out  again.  Very  soon  he  came  back, 
followed  by  his  squaw,  who  brought  in  her  hands 
a  valuable  present,  which  she  laid  at  the  feet  of 
the  two  chiefs.  Wawatam  then  addressed  them 
in  the  following  speech :  — 

''  Friends  and  relations,  what  is  it  that  I  shall 
say?  You  know  what  I  feel.  You  all  have 
friends,  and  brothers,  and  children,  whom  as  your- 
selves you  love  ;  and  you,  —  what  would  you  ex- 
perience, did  you,  like  me,  behold  your  dearest 
friend  —  your  brother  —  in  the  condition  of  a  slave  ; 
a  slave,  exposed  every  moment  to  insult,  and  to 
menaces  of  death  1  This  case,  as  you  all  know,  is 
mine.  See  there,  [pointing  to  Henry,]  my  friend 
and  brother  among  slaves,  —  himself  a  slave  ! 


356  THE   MASSACRE.  [1763,  June. 

"  You  all  well  know  that,  long  before  the  war 
•began,  I  adopted  him  as  my  brother.  From  that 
moment  he  became  one  of  my  family,  so  that  no 
change  of  circumstances  could  break  the  cord 
which  fastened  us  together. 

"  He  is  my  brother  ;  and  because  I  am  your 
relation,  he  is  therefore  your  relation  too  ;  and 
how,  being  your  relation,  can  he  be  your  slave  1 

"  On  the  day  on  which  the  war  began,  you  were 
fearful  lest,  on  this  very  account,  I  should  reveal 
your  secret.  You  requested,  therefore,  that  I  would 
leave  the  fort,  and  even  cross  the  lake.  I  did  so ; 
but  I  did  it  with  reluctance.  I  did  it  with  reluc- 
tance, notwithstanding  that  you,  Minavavana,  who 
had  the  command  in  this  enterprise,  gave  me  your 
promise  that  you  would  protect  my  friend,  deliver- 
ing him  from  all  danger,  and  giving  him  safely  to 
me. 

"  The  performance  of  this  promise  I  now  claim. 
I  come  not  with  empty  hands  to  ask  it.  You,  Min- 
avavana, best  know  whether  or  not,  as  it  respects 
yourself,  you  have  kept  your  word ;  but  I  bring 
these  goods  to  buy  off  every  claim  which  any  man 
among  you  all  may  have  on  my  brother  as  his 
prisoner."  ^ 

To  this  speech  the  war-chief  returned  a  favor- 
able answer.     Wawatam's  request  was  acceded  to, 

1  Henry,  Travels,  102.  The  authenticity  of  this  very  interesting  book 
has  never  been  questioned.  Henry  was  living  at  Montreal  as  late  as  the 
year  1809.  In  1797  he,  with  others,  claimed,  in  virtue  of  Indian  grants, 
a  large  tract  of  land  west  of  the  River  Cuyalioga,  in  the  present  State  of 
Ohio.  A  letter  from  him  is  extant,  dated  in  April  of  that  year,  in  which 
he  oifers  this  land  to  the  Connecticut  Land  Company,  at  one-sixth  of  a 
dollar  an  acre. 


1763,  June.]  CANNIBALISM.  357 

the  present  was  accepted,  and  the  prisoner  re- 
leased. Henry  soon  fonnd  himself  in  the  lodge  of 
his  friend,  where  furs  were  spread  for  him  to  lie 
upon,  food  and  drink  brought  for  his  refreshment, 
and  every  thing  done  to  promote  his  comfort  that 
Indian  hospitality  could  suggest.  As  he  lay  in  tlie 
lodge,  on  the  day  after  his  release,  he  heard  a  loud 
noise  from  within  the  prison-house,  which  stood  close 
at  hand,  and,  looking  through  a  crevice  in  the  bark, 
he  saw  the  dead  bodies  of  seven  soldiers  dragged 
out.  It  appeared  that  a  noted  chief  had  just 
arrived  from  his  wintering  ground.  Having  come 
too  late  to  take  part  in  the  grand  achievement  of 
his  countrymen,  he  was  anxious  to  manifest  to  all 
present  his  entire  approval  of  what  had  been  done, 
and  with  this  design  he  had  entered  the  lodge  and 
despatched  seven  of  the  prisoners  with  his  knife. 

The  Indians  are  not  habitual  cannibals.  After 
a  victory,  however,  it  often  happens  that  the  bodies 
of  their  enemies  are  consumed  at  a  formal  war- 
feast  —  a  superstitious  rite,  adapted,  as  they  think, 
to  increase  their  courage  and  hardihood.  Such  a 
feast  took  place  on  the  present  occasion,  and  most 
of  the  chiefs  partook  of  it,  though  some  of  them, 
at  least,  did  so  with  repugnance. 

About  a  week  had  now  elapsed  since  the  mas- 
sacre, and  a  revulsion  of  feeling  began  to  take 
place  among  the  Indians.  Up  to  this  time  all  had 
been  triumph  and  exultation  ;  but  they  now  began 
to  fear  the  consequences  of  their  conduct.  In- 
definite and  absurd  rumors  of  an  approaching 
attack  from  the  English  were  afloat  in  the  camp, 


358  THE   MASSACRE.  [1763,  June. 

and,  in  their  growing  uneasiness,  they  thought  it 
expedient  to  shift  their  position  to  some  point 
more  capable  of  defence.  Three  hundred  and 
fifty  warriors,  with  their  families  and  household 
effects,  embarked  in  canoes  for  the  Island  of  Mich- 
ilHmackinac,  seven  or  eight  miles  distant.  Wa- 
watam,  with  his  friend  Henry,  was  of  the  number. 
Strong  gusts  of  wind  came  from  the  north,  and 
when  the  fleet  of  canoes  was  half  way  to  the  Island, 
it  blew  a  gale,  the  waves  pitching  and  tossing  with 
such  violence,  that  the  frail  and  heavy-laden  vessels 
were  much  endangered.  Many  voices  were  raised 
in  prayer  to  the  Great  Spirit,  and  a  dog  was  thrown 
into  the  lake,  as  a  sacrifice  to  appease  the  angry 
manitou  of  the  waters.  The  canoes  weathered  the 
storm,  and  soon  drew  near  the  island.  Two  squaws, 
in  the  same  canoe  with  Henry,  raised  their  voices 
in  mournful  wailing  and  lamentation.  Late  events 
had  made  him  sensible  to  every  impression  of  hor- 
ror, and  these  dismal  cries  seemed  ominous  of  some 
new  disaster,  until  he  learned  that  they  were  called 
forth  by  the  recollection  of  dead  relatives,  whose 
graves  were  visible  upon  a  neighboring  point  of  the 
shore. 

The  Island  of  Michillimackinac,  or  Mackinaw, 
owing  to  its  situation,  its  beauty,  and  the  fish  which 
the  surrounding  water  supplied,  had  long  been  a 
favorite  resort  of  Indians.  It  is  about  three  miles 
wide.  So  clear  are  the  waters  of  Lake  Huron, 
which  wash  its  shores,  that  one  may  count  the  peb- 
bles at  an  incredible  depth.  The  island  is  fenced 
round  by  white  limestone  cliffs,  beautifully  contrast- 


1763,  June.]  MACKINAW  ISLAND.  359 

mg  with  the  green  foliage  that  half  covers  them, 
and  in  the  centre  the  land  rises  in  woody  heights. 
The  rock  which  forms  its  foundation  assumes  fan- 
tastic shapes  —  natural  bridges,  caverns,  or  sharp 
pinnacles,  which  at  this  day  are  pointed  out  as  the 
curiosities  of  the  region.  In  many  of  the  caves 
have  been  found  quantities  of  human  bones,  as  if, 
at  some  period,  the  island  had  served  as  a  grand 
depository  for  the  dead  ;  yet  of  these  remains  the 
present  race  of  Indians  can  give  no  account.  Le- 
gends and  superstitions  attached  a  mysterious  celeb- 
rity to  the  place,  and  here,  it  was  said,  the  fairies  of 
Indian  tradition  might  often  be  seen  dancing  upon 
the  white  rocks,  or  basking  in  the  moonlight.^ 

The  Indians  landed  at  the  margin  of  a  little  bay. 
Unlading  their  canoes,  and  lifting  them  high  and 
dry  upon  the  beach,  they  began  to  erect  their 
lodges,  and  before  night  had  completed  the  work. 

1  Tradition,  preserved  by  Henry  Conner,  See  also  Schoolcraft,  Algic 
Researches,  II.  159. 

"  Their  tradition  concerning  tlie  name  of  this  little  island  is  curious. 
They  say  that  Michapous,  the  chief  of  spirits,  sojourned  long  in  that 
vicinity.  They  believed  that  a  mountain  on  the  border  of  the  lake  was 
the  place  of  his  abode,  and  they  called  it  by  his  name.  It  was  here,  say 
they,  that  he  first  instructed  man  to  fabricate  nets  for  taking  fish,  and 
where  he  has  collected  the  greatest  quantity  of  these  finny  inhabitants  of 
the  waters.  On  the  island  he  left  spirits,  named  Imakinakos ;  and  from 
these  aerial  possessors  it  has  received  the  appellation  of  Michillimakinac. 

"  When  the  savages,  in  those  quarters,  make  a  feast  of  fish,  they 
invoke  the  spirits  of  the  island,  thank  them  for  their  bounty,  and  entreat 
them  to  continue  their  protection  to  their  families.  They  demand  of  them 
to  preserve  their  nets  and  canoes  from  the  sweUing  and  destructive  bil- 
lows, when  the  lakes  are  agitated  by  storms.  All  who  assist  in  the  cere- 
mony lengthen  their  voices  together,  which  is  an  act  of  gratitude.  In 
the  observance  of  this  duty  of  their  religion,  they  were  formerly  very 
punctual  and  scrupulous  ;  but  the  French  rallied  them  so  much  upon  the 
subject,  that  they  became  ashamed  to  practise  it  openly."  —  Heriot, 
Travels  in  Canada,  185. 


360  THE  MASSACRE.  [1763,  June. 

Messengers  arrived  on  the  next  day  from  Pontiac, 
informing  them  that  he  was  besieging  Detroit, 
and  nrging  them  to  come  to  his  aid.  .  But  their 
warlike  ardor  had  well-nigh  died  out.  A  sense- 
less alarm  prevailed  among  them,  and  they  now 
thought  more  of  securing  their  own  safety  than  of 
injuring  the  enemy.  A  vigilant  watch  was  kept  up 
all  day,  and  the  unusual  precaution  taken  of  plac- 
ing guards  at  night.  Their  fears,  however,  did 
not  prevent  them  from  seizing  two  English  trad- 
ing canoes,  which  had  come  from  Montreal  by 
way  of  the  Ottawa.  Among  the  booty  found  in 
them  was  a  quantity  of  whiskey,  and  a  general 
debauch  was  the  immediate  result.  As  night 
closed  in,  the  dolorous  chanting  of  drunken  songs 
was  heard  from  within  the  lodges,  the  prelude  of  a 
scene  of  riot ;  and  Wawatam,  knowing  that  his 
friend  Henry's  life  would  be  in  danger,  privately 
led  him  out  of  the  camp  to  a  cavern  in  the  hills, 
towards  the  interior  of  the  island.  Here  the  trader 
spent  the  night,  in  a  solitude  made  doubly  dreary 
by  a  sense  of  his  forlorn  and  perilous  situation. 
On  waking  in  the  morning,  he  found  that  he  had 
been  lying  on  human  bones,  which  covered  the 
floor  of  the  cave.  The  place  had  anciently  served 
as  a  charnel-house.  Here  he  spent  another  solitary 
night,  before  his  friend  came  to  apprise  him  that 
he  might  return  with  safety  to  the  camp. 

Famine  soon  began  among  the  Indians,  who 
were  sometimes  without  food  for  days  together. 
No  complaints  were  heard  ;  but  with  faces  black- 
ened, in    sign    of    sorrow,  they  patiently  endured 


1763,  June.]  GREEN   BAY.  361 

the  privation  with  that  resignation  under  inevit- 
able suffering,  which  distinguishes  the  whole  In- 
dian race.  They  were  at  length  compelled  to 
cross  over  to  the  north  shore  of  Lake  Huron, 
where  fish  were  more  abundant ;  and  here  they 
remained  until  the  end  of  summer,  when  they 
gradually  dispersed,  each  family  repairing  to  its 
winter  hunting-grounds.  Henry,  painted  and  at- 
tired like  an  Indian,  followed  his  friend  Wawatam, 
and  spent  a  lonely  winter  among  the  frozen  forests, 
hunting  the  bear  and  moose  for  subsistence.^ 

The  posts  of  Green  Bay  and  the  Sault  Ste.  Marie 
did  not  share  the  fate  of  Michillimackinac.  During 
the  preceding  winter,  Ste.  Marie  had  been  partially 
destroyed  by  an  accidental  fire,  and  was  therefore 
abandoned,  the  garrison  withdrawing  to  Michilli- 
mackinac, where  many  of   them   perished   in  the 

1  The  following  description  of  ISIinavavana,  or  the  Grand  Sauteur,  who 
was  the  leader  of  the  Ojibwas  at  the  massacre  of  Michillimackinac,  is 
drawn  from  Carver's  Travels  :  — 

*•  The  first  I  accosted  were  Chipeways,  inhabiting  near  the  Ottowaw 
lakes  ;  who  received  me  with  great  cordiality,  and  shook  me  by  the  hand, 
in  token  of  friendship.  ,  At  some  little  distance  behind  these  stood  a  chief 
remarkably  tail  and  well  made,  but  of  so  stern  an  aspect  that  the  most 
undaunted  person  could  not  behold  him  without  feeling  some  degree  of 
terror.  He  seemed  to  have  passed  the  meridian  of  life,  and  by  the  mode 
in  which  he  was  painted  and  tatowed,  I  discovered  that  he  was  of  high 
rank.  However,  I  approaclied  him  in  a  courteous  manner,  and  expected 
to  have  met  with  the  same  reception  I  had  done  from  the  others  ;  but,  to 
my  great  surprise,  he  withheld  his  hand,  and  looking  fiercely  at  me,  said, 
in  the  Chipeway  tongue,  '  Cawin  nishishin  soganosh,'  that  is,  '  The  English 
are  no  good.'  As  he  had  his  tomahawk  in  his  hand,  I  expected  that  this 
laconick  sentence  would  have  been  followed  by  a  blow ;  to  prevent  which 
I  drew  a  pistol  from  my  belt,  and,  holding  it  in  a  careless  position,  passed 
close  by  him,  to  let  him  see  I  was  not  afraid  of  him.  .  .  .  Since  I  came 
to  England,  I  have  been  informed,  that  the  Grand  Sautor,  having  ren- 
dered himself  more  and  more  disgustful  to  the  English  by  his  inveterate 
enmity  towards  them,  was  at  length  stabbed  in  his  tent,  as  he  encamped 
near  Michillimackinac,  by  a  trader.''  —  Carver,  96. 


362  THE   MASSACRE.  [1763,  June. 

massacre.  The  fort  at  Green  Bay  first  received  an 
English  garrison  in  the  year  1761,  at  the  same  time 
with  the  other  posts  of  this  region.  The  force 
consisted  of  seventeen  men,  of  the  60th  or  Hoyal 
American  regiment,  commanded  by  Lieutenant 
Gorell.  Though  so  few  in  number,  their  duties 
were  of  a  very  important  character.  In  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Green  Bay  were  numerous  and  power- 
ful Indian  tribes.  The  Menomonies  lived  at  the 
mouth  of  Fox  River,  close  to  the  fort.  The  Win- 
nebagoes  had  several  villages  on  the  lake  which 
bears  their  name,  and  the  Sacs  and  Foxes  were 
established  on  the  River  Wisconsin,  in  a  large  vil- 
lage composed  of  houses  neatly  built  of  logs  and 
bark,  and  surrounded  by  fields  of  corn  and  vegeta- 
bles.^ West  of  the  Mississippi  was  the  powerful 
nation  of  the  Dahcotah,  w^hose  strength  was  loosely 
estimated  at  thirty  thousand  fighting  men,  and 
who,  in  the  excess  of  their  haughtiness,  styled  the 
surrounding  tribes  their  dogs  and  slaves.^  The 
commandant  of  Green  Bay  was  the  representative 
of  the  British  government,  in  communication  with 
all  these  tribes.  It  devolved  upon  him  to  secure 
their  friendship,  and  keep  them  at  peace ;  and  he 
was  also  intrusted,  in  a  great  measure,  with  the 
power  of  regulating  the  fur-trade  among  them.  In 
the  course  of  each  season,  parties  of  Indians,  from 
every  quarter,  would  come  to  the  fort,  each  expect- 
ing to  be  received  with  speeches  and  presents. 

1  Carver,  Travels,  47. 

2  Gorell,  Journal,  MS.  The  original  manuscript  is  preserved  in  the 
library  of  the  Maryland  Historical  Society,  to  which  it  was  presented  by 
Robert  Gilmor,  Esq. 


1763,  June.]  TACT   OF   GORELL.  363 

Gorell  seems  to  have  acquitted  himself  with  great 
judgment  and  prudence.  On  first  arriving  at  the 
fort,  he  had  found  its  defences  decayed  and  ruin- 
ous, the  Canadian  inhabitants  unfriendly,  and  many 
of  the  Indians  disposed  to  hostility.  His  good 
conduct  contributed  to  allay  their  irritation,  and 
he  was  particularly  successful  in  conciliating  his 
immediate  neighbors,  the  Menomonies.  They  had 
taken  an  active  part  in  the  late  war  between  France 
and  England,  and  their  spirits  were  humbled  by  the 
losses  they  had  sustained,  as  well  as  by  recent  rav- 
ages of  the  small-pox.  Gorell  summoned  them  to 
a  council,  and  delivered  a  speech,  in  which  he 
avoided  wounding  their  pride,  but  at  the  same  time 
assumed  a  tone  of  firmness  and  decision,  such  as 
can  alone  command  an  Indian's  respect.  He  told 
them  that  the  King  of  England  had  heard  of  their 
ill  conduct,  but  that  he  was  ready  to  forget  all  that 
had  passed.  If,  however,  they  should  again  give 
him  cause  of  complaint,  he  would  send  an  army, 
numerous  as  the  trees  of  the  forest,  and  utterly 
destroy  them.  Flattering  expressions  of  confidence 
and  esteem  succeeded,  and  the  whole  was  enforced 
by  the  distribution  of  a  few  presents.  The  Meno- 
monies replied  by  assurances  of  friendship,  more 
sincerely  made  and  faithfully  kept  than  could  have 
been  expected.  As  Indians  of  the  other  tribes 
came  from  time  to  time  to  the  fort,  they  met  with 
a  similar  reception ;  and,  in  his  whole  intercourse 
with  them,  the  constant  aim  of  the  commandant 
was  to  gain  their  good  will.  The  result  was  most 
happy  for  himself  and  his  garrison. 


364  THE   MASSACRE.  [1763,  June. 

On  the  fifteenth  of  June,  1763,  an  Ottawa  Indian 
brought  to  Gorell  the  following  letter  from  Captain 
Etherington :  — 

"  Michillimackinac,  June  11,  1763. 

"  Dear  Sir : 

"  This  place  was  taken  by  surprise,  on  the  sec- 
ond instant,  by  the  Chippeways,  [Ojibwas,]  at  which 
time  Lieutenant  Jamet  and  twenty  [fifteen]  more 
w^ere  killed,  and  all  the  rest  taken  prisoners ;  but 
our  good  friends,  the  Ottawas,  have  taken  Lieuten- 
ant Lesley,  me,  and  eleven  men,  out  of  their  hands, 
and  have  promised  to  reinstate  us  again.  Youll 
therefore,  on  the  receipt  of  this,  which  I  send  by 
a  canoe  of  Ottawas,  set  out  with  all  your  garrison, 
and  Avhat  English  traders  you  have  with  you,  and 
come  with  the  Indian  who  gives  you  this,  who  wall 
conduct  you  safe  to  me.  You  must  be  sure  to  fol- 
low the  instruction  you  receive  from  the  bearer  of 
this,  as  you  are  by  no  means  to  come  to  this  post 
before  you  see  me  at  the  village,  twenty  miles  from 
this.  ...  I  must  once  more  beg  you'll  lose  no 
time  in  coming  to  join  me  ;  at  the  same  time,  be 
very  careful,  and  always  be  on  your  guard.  I  long 
much  to  see  you,  and  am,  dear  sir, 

"  Your  most  humble  serv't. 

"  Geo.  Etherington. 

"J.  Gorell, 
"  Royal  Americans." 

On  receiving  this  letter,  Gorell  summoned  the 
Menomonies  to  a  council,  told  them  what  the  Ojib- 


1763,  June.]  GREEN  BAY  ABANDONED.  365 

was  had  done,  and  said  that  he  and  his  soldiers 
were  going  to  Michillimackinac  to  restore  order ; 
adding,  that  during  his  absence  he  commended  the 
fort  to  their  care.  Great  numbers  of  the  Winne- 
bagoes  and  of  the  Sacs  and  Foxes  afterwards 
arrived,  and  Gorell  addressed  them  in  nearly  the 
same  words.  Presents  were  given  them,  and  it 
soon  appeared  that  the  greater  part  were  well  dis- 
posed towards  the  English,  though  a  few  were 
inclined  to  prevent  their  departure,  and  even  to 
threaten  hostility.  xVt  this  juncture,  a  fortunate 
incident  occurred.  A  Dahcotah  chief  arrived  with 
a  message  from  his  people  to  the  following  import : 
They  had  heard,  he  said,  of  the  bad  conduct  of  the 
Ojibwas.  They  hoped  that  the  tribes  of  Green 
Bay  would  not  follow  their  example,  but,  on  the 
contrary,  would  protect  the  English  garrison.  Un- 
less they  did  so,  the  Dahcotah  would  fall  upon 
them,  and  take  ample  revenge.  This  auspicious 
interference  must,  no  doubt,  be  ascribed  to  the 
hatred  with  which  the  Dahcotah  had  long  regarded 
the  Ojibwas.  That  the  latter  should  espouse  one 
side  of  the  quarrel,  was  abundant  reason  to  the 
Dahcotah  for  adopting  the  other. 

Some  of  the  Green  Bay  Indians  were  also  at 
enmity  with  the  Ojibwas,  and  all  opposition  to  the 
departure  of  the  English  was  now  at  an  end.  In- 
deed, some  of  the  more  friendly  offered  to  escort 
the  garrison  on  its  way ;  and  on  the  twenty-first  of 
June,  Gorell's  party  embarked  in  several  bateaux, 
accompanied   by  ninety  warriors  in  canoes.     Ap- 


366  THE  MASSACRE.  [1763,  July. 

proaching  Isle  du  Castor,  near  the  mouth  of  Green 
Bay,  an  alarm  was  given  that  the  Ojibwas  were 
lying  there  in  ambush  ;  on  which  the  Meno monies 
raised  the  war-song,  stripped  themselves,  and  pre- 
pared to  do  battle  in  behalf  of  the  English.  The 
alarm,  however,  proved  false  ;  and,  having  crossed 
Lake  Michigan  in  safety,  the  party  arrived  at  the 
village  of  L'Arbre  Croche  on  the  thirtieth.  The 
Ottawas  came  down  to  the  beach,  to  salute  them 
with  a  discharge  of  guns ;  and,  on  landing,  they 
were  presented  with  the  pipe  of  peace.  Captain 
Etherington  and  Lieutenant  Leslie,  with  eleven 
men,  were  in  the  village,  detained  as  prisoners, 
though  treated  with  kindness.  It  was  thought  that 
the  Ottawas  intended  to  disarm  the  party  of  Gorell 
also  ;  but  the  latter  gave  out  that  he  would  resist 
such  an  attempt,  and  his  soldiers  were  permitted 
to  retain  their  weapons. 

Several  succeeding  days  were  occupied  by  the 
Indians  in  holding  councils.  Those  from  Green 
Bay  requested  the  Ottawas  to  set  their  prisoners 
at  liberty,  and  they  at  length  assented.  A  diffi- 
culty still  remained,  as  the  Ojibwas  had  declared 
that  they  would  prevent  the  English  from  passing 
down  to  Montreal.  Their  chiefs  were  therefore 
summoned  ;  and  being  at  this  time,  as  we  have 
seen,  in  a  state  of  much  alarm,  they  at  length  re- 
luctantly yielded^  the  point.  On  the  eighteenth  of 
July,  the  English,  escorted  by  a  fleet  of  Indian 
canoes,  left  L'Arbre  Croche,  and  reaching,  without 
interruption,  the    portage    of   the    River   Ottawa, 


1763,  Aug.]  ARRIVAL  AT  MONTREAL.  367 

descended  to  Montreal,  where  they  all  arrived  in 
safety,  on  the  thirteenth  of  August.^  Except  the 
garrison  of  Detroit,  not  a  British  soldier  now 
remained  in  the  region  of  the  lakes. 

1  Gorell,  Journal,  MS. 


END   OP  VOL.  I. 


Webster  Family  Library  of  Veterinary  Medicine 
Gummings  School  of  Veterinary  Medicine  at 
Tufts  University 


